In the dust of the old world
by aboywhowantedtobegod
Summary: RWBY Fallout AU. Yang, Blake and Ruby live as nomad traders and it's business as usual, travelling throughout the American wasteland, the memories of their shared past haunting them. But when they meet Weiss, the daughter of a weapons dealer, their lives take a huge change, forcing them to venture across the wasteland while fighting to stay alive.I dont own RWBY or its characters
1. Chapter 1: One Journey ends

_(Summary: A day in the life of Yang, Blake, and Ruby Nomad traders, they make their way towards Megaton after a few days of traveling. A little bit of bumblebee cuddles and some angst.)  
_  
"Yaaaang! Are we there yet?"

The tall blonde turned to answer her sister for the hundredth time since they left Rivet city. The small redhead was trudging alongside the pack Brahmin, which carried their possessions and items to sell. She went up to her sister and ruffled her hair, smiling gently.

"We're almost there, Ruby. Look, you can even see it on the horizon!"

She crouched to her younger sister's level and pointed out towards the ragged spikes that jutted out against the smooth landscape, promising the group that the small town of Megaton was close.

"Just a little further."

Yang turned to look at her sister, her large silver eyes now filled with hope at the idea of a mattress and a decent meal. She finally picked herself up and rushed ahead, leaving Yang smiling in her wake. Yang watched as Ruby's worn red cape flipped in the wind, . Though Ruby could easily wipe out a band of raiders without breaking a sweat, she was still a child in so many ways. Her train of thought broke suddenly when a hand grasped her shoulder. Jumping for a moment, thinking she was being ambushed, she turned to meet the lips of her third companion. When the kiss broke, she looked into the face of the person she loved as much as her sister, maybe more. Giant golden eyes shone out against a face matted with dust and dirt.

"What was that for?"

Blake pulled away from Yang, furrowing her brow, but still smiling.

"Do I need a reason?"

"Uh, no- Just wasn't expecting it. I thought you wanted to stick further behind, you know, be our watchful guardian."

Though she was happy to see her lover, it was true. Normally, Yang and Ruby traveled together with the Brahmin, while Blake kept a short distance away, watching them through the scope of her trusty hunting rifle, that now hung over her shoulder. Blake shrugged.

"Like you said, it's only a little further. I think my job is done for now."

Silently, she intertwined her thin fingers with Yang's gloved hand.

"Besides, I wanted to be with you."

Smiling, yang cupped Blake's face in her gloved hands and kissed her forehead delicately. Stroking her cheek gently, she finally spoke again.

"Come on. Let's catch up with Ruby."

Sitting in a small bar, everyone with the exception of Blake tucked into their meal, shattered from the last few days of trekking across the barren wasteland. Blake surveyed the building with curious eyes while she sipped on some water, waiting for the first sign of trouble. Yang looked up at her girlfriend, her satisfied smile replaced with a look of concern.

"Babe, please relax. This place is empty and you haven't eaten a bite of anything. Please stop worrying."

Blake looked at Yang, her hard frown softening when she saw the clear worry on her. Smiling gently, she tucked her into her cooked steak, her eyes still occasionally flitting around her surroundings. Yang was right though, they finished their meal in peace and without incident. Finally, the tall women who had served them came over to the girls.

"Did you enjoy your meal?"

Yang smiled up at her, nodding gently.

"Yeah, thank you, how much do we owe you?"

"55 caps for all of you."

Yang raised her eyebrows slightly as she went to pay the girl. This was a lot cheaper than other places the group had been to in the past. Rummaging through the pockets of her leather duster, she grabbed a fistful of caps, and counted out the sum, the woman patiently waiting by her side. Yang gave her all she left out, tipping the rest back into her pocket.

"I'm sorry, you gave me too much. There's 70 caps here."

Yang smiled.

"That's your tip."

The woman opened her mouth in slight shock, and then composed herself again, smiling again and putting her hands behind her back.

"Thank you, ms."

"You're welcome. It's been a while since the last time I've been to Megaton. Where should I go for a place to crash?"

"We have a few spare beds. Otherwise, you can stay at moriarty's."

Yang grimaced at the name. Even after the last visit, she remembered the old pervert who tried to get her to be his employee's "payed accomplice", staring at her chest all throughout the whole exchange.

"Maybe a room here would be better."

**oo0oo**

_"YANG! RUN! TAKE RUBY AND BLAKE AND DON'T LOOK BACK! WHATEVER HAPPENS, DON'T LOOK BACK! RUN RU-"_

Yang woke up in a cold sweat, sitting up immediately, still reeling from her nightmare. Her vest clung to her, her chest slowing down from her rapid breathing. She looked in the corner of the room, hoping she hadn't woken anyone. She found her sister snoring loudly in her single bed, using her red cape as a blanket. She then turned to Blake, who lay next to her. This time, she found her girlfriend awake, golden cat-like eyes looking at her through the darkness.

"A bad dream again?"

Yang fell back onto her back, sighing loudly.

"Yeah"

Blake nodded slightly, not taking her eyes off Yang.

"Come here."

Blake opened her arms and leaned towards Yang, inviting her. Yang rolled on to her lover, tucking her head under Blake's chin, while Blake embraced her, one arm slung lazily over her shoulder and her other hand stroking her back. Yang suddenly started sobbing gently. Blake responded by kissing the top of her head and hushing Yang.

"Shhh. It's okay."

"It's not. I can't stop-"

"I know, Yang. But there was nothing you could do. There was nothing either of us could do."

Yang's soft sobs turned into her louder tears, though she attempted to keep voice down, remembering about her sister, who stirred gently in her bed.

"It never ends, Blake."

"I know, Yang. But nothing can change the past."

Yang tried to stop her crying, reducing them to mere sniffles.

"I'm sorry I woke you."

Blake smiled slightly, though Yang didn't notice. She took her girlfriend's chin with one hand, kissing at the streaks left by her tears, still stoking her back.

"Don't worry, I was awake anyway," Blake lied. Yang was suffering enough from the ghosts of her memories past; she didn't need that topped with guilt, even over something as small as accidentally waking her.

"Blake?"

"Yes?"

Yang paused for a second.

"Do you think I could've saved them."

Blake instantly replied with a single no.

"You know if you went back, you would be dead as well."

Yang nodded against her girlfriend's chest, though the doubt that forever plagued her mind didn't subside with her response. She instead gripped her girlfriend tighter, but softly enough so that Blake stayed comfortable. She decided to change the topic, hoping to drive haunted memories with plans for the near future.

"We'll need to check out crater side supply. We have all plenty to trade with on the Brahmin. Plus it'll be nice to see Moira again."

Both girls smiled at the thought. Moira Brown. They only visited Megaton a few times, but they always made sure to visit crater side supply. Moira owned the store and was a friendly woman, friendlier than most in this town.

"We will, but we should get some sleep"

Yang nodded one last time, before she fell asleep in Blake's arms. Felling happy and protected in her arms, the night terrors left Yang to get some sleep, even if just for tonight.

_(Notes: This is my first time writing fan fiction, this is rough as hell, but I wanted to contribute something to the fandom. I posted it on my short lived fandom tumblr blog (which i deleted), and I didn't want my writing to go to waste. Hope you guys enjoy it, and I will be posting more soon! )_


	2. Chapter 2: Another begins

_(Summary: After spending the night in Megaton, Yang and the rest of the group secure a trade with on old friend of theirs. Contains some fluff.)_

Blake awoke gently to dim sunlight coming through the window. She twisted gently in her sheets, expecting to find the warm form of her girlfriend. When she found that the rest of the bed was unoccupied, she opened her eyes gently, searching for Yang.

She found Yang already wide awake, dressed in her usual large boots, worn white camouflage trousers and a tattered long sleeved top. She gathered up her blanket to cover her body and got up to meet Yang, ignoring the cold metal of the floor. She wrapped herself around Yang from behind, rubbing her head against the blonde's muscular back. Yang turned her head, smiling when she noticed black hair.

"Good morning."

"Morning. What are you doing up so early?"

Yang shrugged, now turning to face her lover. Wrapping her arms around Blake's neck, she held the girl close, gently kissing Blake on the forehead as she tucked her head under yang's chin. It was as if Blake's body was made to fit perfectly with hers. Yang smiled gently at the thought.

"You sleep well, Blake?"

"Mm hmm, did you get much sleep?"

Yang nodded gently. She looked at Blake, the thick blanket and her thin clothes she wore to bed her only protection to the elements. She looked down to notice that her feet were unprotected against the freezing metal of the floor.

"You not cold?"

Blake shrugged slightly, looking into Yang's lilac eyes.

"A little,"

"You should get back to bed then,"

Blake smiled tenderly, kissing Yang on the mouth with tender passion.

"I'm good right here,"

Yang grinned evilly.

"I wasn't asking,"

Before Blake could register Yang's words; the taller girl picked her girlfriend up easily, a small squeak of surprise escaping her lips. As soon as they were by the edge of the bed, Yang put Blake gently down on the bed and collapsed on the space next to her, adjusting herself so she could be face to face with her. Blake threw the blanket over Yang and snuggled into the blonde, who instinctively held her gently. For the longest time, they just laid there in comfortable silence, enjoying each other's presence. The slight wind and ruby's gentle snores the only thing keeping silence at bay. Soon, over Blake's head, Yang could Ruby stir gently from her sleep, and saw her lazy silver eyes meet her own.

"Morning."

"Huh…Good morning." Ruby yawned, stretching her arms gently. She got up, dragging her red cape behind her, making a soft ruffling sound against the metal. She crawled onto the bed and cuddled up to Blake, who gasped slightly in surprise.

"Uh, hi,"

"Sorry, Blake, I want in on this snuggle fest."

Smiling gently, she allowed the small redhead to get in. Dropping her cape on the floor beside the bed, and crawled in between her and Yang as they all cuddled together, silence once again falling over them. Soon, the dim daylight grew steadily brighter. Yang whipped the thick blanket of her side of the bed, and got up from her side of the bed.

"Come on, we've got another long day ahead of us,"

**oo0oo**

"Hello Strangers!"

Yang smiled in the direction of the voice, which belonged to the shop owner, Moira Brown. A woman of average height and of a thin build, she wore blue overalls and had red hair a few shades lighter than ruby's, which was slung up in a lazy pony tail. Ruby ran up and hugged Moira.

"Hey little one! How are you doing?"

"I'm great, thanks, how are you?"

"I'm wonderful! I actually have something for you!"

Moira bent behind the counter and pulled out a box of sugar bombs, placing it into Ruby's eager hands. Anyone who knew Ruby well was aware of how much of a sweet tooth.

"THANKS MOIRA!" Rudy tore into the box and sat on the stair case as she started stuffing the golden sugar balls into her mouth.

Yang and Moira smiled at Ruby.

"You're welcome, Red,"

"Slow down there, Ruby. You don't want to get sick, and we got a long road ahead of us today,"

Moira turned to the blonde, who stood a head taller than her.

"Hello to you too, Yang," noticing Blake, she nodded towards her as well.

Blake turned away from perusing through Moira's very limited book collection for a second to smile gently at her, and then turned back to try and find a book that wasn't totally destroyed. Moira turned back to Yang.

"So, how is business?"

"Business is good. Did a little bit of trading in Rivet city,"

Moira nodded, her eyebrows slightly raised. Rivet city was a small city that was built inside the remains of a flight carrier, and was one of the few settlements within the capital wasteland. It was also in the middle of DC, and even though the brotherhood of steel's presence there helped make the city a little safer and Moira knew  
Yang, Ruby and Blake were more than capable of looking after themselves, it was still full of super mutants, remnants of the enclave, and other dangers.

"What about you? What's new?"

Moira shrugged.

"Not much, few new traders…oh! And I got this!"

She pointed up towards a fish that hung on a plaque above the door. It was a large salmon, made out of carved wood.

"Got this from a trader from New Vegas. I like it."

Yang nodded in agreement, a large smile on her face.

"Me too. I think it looks fin-tastic. I'm totally hooked on it,"

Blake and Rudy groaned loudly, though Moira chuckled slightly, making Yang smile even more. This was one of the reasons why Yang liked Moira: she was one of the few people who could appreciate her puns.

"So, business good?"

"Indeed! You know how many people pass through Megaton, and with vault 101 open and wanting to trade with us, business is booming!"

This surprised Yang. Vault 101 was a nuclear shelter from the old world, and had been shut for countless years. It seemed a bit odd to her why they would leave the comfort and safety of that place, but Moira wasn't one for lying. As if on queue, two men in vault security armour with "101" etched on the front and back of the suits came striding through the door.

"Afternoon, Ms Brown. We're here to pick up our order,"

"Order? I don't remem- OH YES! It's all here!"

Moira picked up a small crate which rattled from the contents inside. The security guard who spoke dropped a small bag full of caps onto the counter.

"Thank you, Ms. Have a lovely day, ladies," the security guard said, tipping his helmet slightly towards Yang before picking up the crate with the help of his comrade. Moira turned back to Yang.

"Like I said, business is good.. Anyway, what can I help you with?"

Yang sighed slightly. She enjoyed her conversations with Moira, but she knew she was still a customer, and Moira still had a shop to run.

"Yes, I need some shotgun shells for my two ballistic fists, some 50mg calibre rounds, some food, water and 10mm rounds"

"I can get that for you right away,"

"Thanks Moira!"

Moira went behind the shop, hearing rustling from Moira looking for bullets and all the other items. Yang looked her gauntlets, smiling with pride. Ember Cecilia. Normal ballistic fist models were black with a small double barrel on the top. Yang's had three double barrels and were painted yellow. A gift from her father. She smiled sadly, remembering her old man… and Ruby's stepfather

"You know… There are a lot of people who would love to have a weapon like crescent rose!" Moira shouted out. Yang wasn't sure whether it was aimed at her or Ruby. The sisters both retorted at the same time.

"It's not for sale!"

The sisters looked at each other sadly. Just like Ember Cecelia was a gift from her father, Ruby's sniper scythe was a gift from her stepfather. Both girls remembered him with sad fondness. Ruby spoke up, breaking the awkward silence.

"I can make up a copy of the schematics if you want!"

Moira popped out carrying the goods Yang ordered, her usual happy smile still clear on her face.

"That would be great, Ruby! I've got thirty two 50mg calibre rounds, a hundred shotgun rounds for your gauntlets, and a hundred and fifty 10mm rounds for you guys. That'll be 750 caps please, Yang."

"OH! And this please." Blake planted an almost undamaged copy of Paradise Lost on the counter.

"800 caps then."

Yang nodded. Then she remembered about their pack Brahmin.

"I actually have some goods outside. Give me ten minutes, and we can trade?"

Moira nodded excitedly, and Yang made towards the Brahmin left outside Megaton, eager to get rid of some of their unneeded goods, hearing a conversation beginning between Blake and Moira as she began walking out.

"So, how is that book going, Moira?"

"I FINISHED IT! Some guy from vault 101 helped me do my research-"

**oo0oo  
**  
"Ok, so that's three hunting rifles, some clothes and a few frag grenades. Yeah, that should cover the cost, Yang. You enjoy those books, Blake, and tell me what youj think of the wasteland survival guide"

Moira decided to see them off just as they adjusted the possessions on the pack Brahmin. Yang and Blake nodded.

"Oh wait!"

Ruby ran to one of the side bags on the Brahmin and pulled out a copy of blue paper. Crescent Rose's weapon schematics. She took the rolled up paper and handed it to Moira

"As promised."

Moira looked down, mouth agape in clear shock.

"You sure? Is this you only-?"

Ruby shook her head, smiling.

"No, I always keep a spare."

Moira hugged Ruby tightly.

"Thank you so much! You-this means so much to me, thank you! When will you guys be back?" This time, she pointed the question to Yang, as she was the one who called the shots when it came to travelling.

"I don't know. Maybe a few monthes.

"Well, remind me I owe you one."

Yang nodded, smiling. It was nice to see Ruby's kindness helped out…that and her dad's old habits. Shaking away the thought, she started to head off, but not before shaking Moira's hand.

"Always a pleasure, Moira."

"Likewise." Smiling Moira pulled Yang into a hug, which she accepted.

"Stay safe, it's a tough, unforgiving world out there, kiddo."

Her smile turning into sadness. She knew all to well. Pulling away, she put on a smile before pulling away.

"Til the next time"

The convoy started to head off. Yang pulled up next to Ruby, ruffling her hair.

"That was a sweet thing you did for Moira, Rubes,"

Ruby smiled up at Yang.

"You should thank your dad, It's because of him I could help Moira."

Yang pulled a shoulder around her younger sister's shoulder.

"_Our_ dad."

**oo0oo**

_"Yang, Ruby, you got to remember any modifications you make to those weapons, you got to add it to the schematics. Every single little detail you add onto Ember or Crescent, remember to add it"_

The sisters nodded in comprehension.

"Good. And it might be a good habit to keep a spare copy. In case, you lose the original."

_(Notes: Hey guys! I wanted to include the weapons, as I believe it is part of the character's identities. This is a rough second draft. I shelled this out because I wanted to write something. May not be as good as the first one, I don't know. Anyway, stay tuned for more, guys!)_


	3. Chapter 3: On the road again

_(Summary: A typical day encountering the normal duties of the job, as well some of the dangers that come along with it. A whole lot of plot and a major character introduction)_

"Pleasure doing business with you" Yang shook the hand of the small woman. She wore a red jumpsuit with a bandana to match. She shook Yang's hand firmly, a firm smile on her face. Despite the huge sentry bot that whirled threatening around the small town, Yang felt at ease in this town, watching the other residents go about their daily business.

"Name's Red. And no problem, I should be thanking you, traders rarely pass through here, this is the first chance we've had to trade in a while."

Ruby and Yang looked at each other, both furrowing their brows, both their curiosities raised.

"Why's that?" Ruby asked.

"Well, between the raiders everywhere, Super Mutants up the road, and the slavers at Paradise Falls, it isn't exactly the safest place, heh"

Ruby looked at Yang, her curiosity replaced now with clear concern. Yang, however, grinning slightly. The past few days had passed without incident, and while that was good and all…Yang got bored, and this was amazing news. The best thing about raiders, super mutants AND slavers? You don't feel bad beating the hell out of them. She looked back at her little sister, her smile slightly diminishing. She didn't want to do anything to put her little sister or love in danger.

"Why do you think we have the sentry bot?" Said Red, laughing slightly. Yang smiled back. That made more sense now, its presence now seeming more comforting than threatening. Yang stroked her chin thoughtfully. Though this was not her first time visiting Bigtown and being somewhat familiar with the capital wasteland, she still wanted to know what she was getting herself into.

"Which way is Paradise Falls?"

Red pointed towards the north.

"The muties?"

North-west.

"The raiders?

Red pointed in between the two. Yang sighed in frustration. North meant putting Ruby and Blake in danger, but South meant retracing their steps, going back where they just came from. Yang ran a hand through her golden mane thoughtfully. She looked to Ruby, who looked back at her, shrugging slightly, then looked at the group of rocks where she assumed Blake was hiding. She shouted for her to come down. This wasn't exactly a decision she could make alone, not when it put others at risk.

**oo0oo**

"So you see my problem?" Yang spoke to Blake, after having explained the whole situation from within the main building of Bigtown, as the whole group was crowded around a fire. Ruby sat wrapped up in her cape, while Blake stroked her chin thoughtfully. She weighed the options. Even though going back and finding an alternate route seemed like the safer option, she agreed with Yang that it was also the most time consuming. It would mean having to go back, spending more time finding a different route spend more caps on more supplies, more food, more water when they could be using that time and money elsewhere.

"If we run into trouble, we'll deal with it,"

Blake and Yang turned towards the direction of the voice, slightly surprised, straight into the glittering silver eyes that belonged to Ruby. Ruby looked up from the weak flames with a warming smile, first at Yang, then to Blake.

"I mean, we always do,"

Blake and Yang smiled softly down at her, though Yang still wasn't sure. Granted, Ruby was old enough to look after to look after herself, and a more-than capable fighter, but Ruby would always be her baby sister. Worrying about her was her job, her responsibility. Poking at the flames with a stick that strayed from the inferno, she spoke up again, a tone of finality in her voice.

"I say we go north,"

Yang nodded, and then looked to Blake, flashing a smile. Blake met her eyes, smiling back and raising her eyebrows slightly, expecting her to say something

"Looks like it's up to you, Blake,"

Blake shrugged, tucking a lose strand of hair behind her ear, sighing softly.

"It does seem the most efficient way"

Yang nodded slowly. Getting up onto her feet, she gave a single nod, wiping off the dirt from her trousers.

"Guess that's that settled then."

**oo0oo**

The three girls were getting ready to head out. Ruby was checking crescent rose, making sure the barrel of the rifle was clean, and that her beloved weapon was fully prepped for action. If there was going to be any trouble, Ruby wanted to be ready for it. Yang made sure to check that the straps on the bags attached to the Brahmin were secure. Satisfied with her work, she saw Blake, checking her trusty silenced sniper rifle and Gambol Shroud. Satisfied, she was about to head off and hide by a set of rocks away from the group, but not before Yang caught her arm. Blake looked at Yang. She seemed worried.

"Yang, what's wrong?"

"Blake…" Yang turned to Ruby, then back to Blake.

"I don't know about this, Blake. I don't feel good sending you or Ruby into this,"

Blake furrowed her brows slightly.

"Yang, we deal with danger all the time,"

Yang sighed slightly, breaking eye contact with Blake for a second.

"I know, but it doesn't mean I like it. What if something happens to you? Or Ruby? What if one of you gets hurt? Or killed? I don't know what I would do with you,"

Blake kissed her girlfriend hard. Not to shut her up, but to comfort her. She then pulled back, stroking a stray tear from Yang's cheek, pulling the blonde into a tight embrace.

"We'll be ok, Yang. You know this." She muttered silently, then chuckled slightly.

"Do you remember about Ruby and the deathclaw?"

"How can I forget?" Yang smiled at the memory. She pulled away, looking at her lover.

"I just worry, you know? I don't want to lose you. Either of you," Yang uttered, as Blake stroked Yang's cheek gently again.

"And you won't, don't worry" Blake smiled, before she walked off to the rocks again. Yang jogged slowly to catch up to Ruby and the Brahmin, who already started slowly northbound. Beaming, she ruffled her little sister's hair, remembering of her exploit against the deathclaw. In the moment, it was terrifying. In hindsight, it was one of the proudest moments Yang felt for her sister.  
It was just a normal day, travelling between towns, when a giant deathclaw came out of nowhere. In a single swoop of its hand, it knocked Blake and Yang out of the way. Rarely anyone survives a deathclaw charge; it was a miracle Blake and Yang survived at all. But just as it turned to claw Ruby, in one elegant motion, Ruby stepped out the monster's way and twisted her scythe in a full circular motion, slicing the beast clean in half from the hip. It was up to her to carry a wounded Blake and Yang to a doctor single-handedly.

Yang had never been prouder to call Ruby Rose her sister.

And to call Blake Belladonna her lover.

It was an achievement for most to survive to adulthood in the wasteland. It was another thing entirely to do it the way Blake did, and not lose their sanity. She was part of a tribe called the White Fang, a peaceful tribe out in Arizona. Until the legion came through that area, butchering the men, and the women and children…Well, the legion made it hard for Blake to grow up. When she was just ten, after years of tortuous abuse, Blake escaped with the help of her friend and guardian, Adam Taurus. Blake didn't remember what happened to him. Or at least, that's what she told Yang.  
Yang and Ruby's family found her one night, barely alive, skin and bone by a dirt road. Ruby's mother, Summer Rose, and the sisters take pity on her, and nursed her back to health. She had been with them ever since.

"Yang!"

Ruby's single yell snapped Yang out of her thoughts to find four black silhouettes on the horizon. Ruby pulled out Crescent Rose and kept it pointed at the men, while Yang tensed herself up, waiting for a confrontation. Instead, the strangers came closer reveal three men… And a woman. The men wore different outfits, but all of them were armed. Yang kept her attention to the men, while Ruby couldn't help but stare at the woman. She was the most beautiful woman she had ever seen. She wore the remains of a once beautifully made pale dress and even though her hair was filthy with dust and dirt, it was white like fresh snow. She had a sharp jaw, and beautiful features, with piercing pale blue eyes that shone out against a dirt ridden face. Then Ruby noticed her neck, which she discreetly pointed out to Yang. A metal collar.

Slavers.

The man at the front stepped out, walking at a faster pace than his comrades. He had short brown hair and a muscular form, with a small Chinese pistol poking over his belt, and a thin white rapier tucked on the other side of his beltt. He spoke for the group.

"Hello there," He said, swaggering towards the women, vain pride and arrogance oozing in each step he took. He looked Ruby up and down, then put his hand on the end of Crescent Rose, pushing the barrel down until the tip of the blade was in the ground and the end of the gun was pointed safely away from him..

"Why don't you put that down before you hurt someone, huh, red?"

Yang grimaced at this man. She didn't like the way he looked at her sister. She spoke out, hoping to distract the scumbag's attention away from her

"Excuse me, who are you?"

The man turned his attention to Yang, holding his hand over his chest.

"My sincerest apologies," he replied, in a tone which clearly showed how not sorry he was. He bowed down to Yang slightly.

"I seem to have forgotten my manners. Cardin Winchester, at your service. And you are?"

"Yang, and this is Ruby," Forcing a smile, she moved closer to Ruby, placing a protective hand on her sister's shoulder, ready to defend her at the first sign of trouble.

"I see. And your traders, huh?"

"Yes"

Cardin chuckled slightly, his thick eyebrows raised, running on of his hands through his hair.

"Well, perhaps we can trade! How about…you give us all your stuff…and we will let you pass? Unharmed."

Yang let out a single forced laugh. Wow, she thought, aren't you as blunt as a brick? She pulled Ruby close her side, while her other hand was ready to lash out.

"Hmmm, I don't think so,"

Cardin lost his smile. He went and grabbed the girl who had a collar around her neck. Ruby could see her better now. She noticed a thin scar, cutting vertically down the girl's left eye.

"Now, now, now, Yang. You don't want your sister to end up like this one here do you?" He grabbed the poor girl's cheek and kissed her cheek forcefully. She didn't even protest, her face contorted into a mask of pure anger and hatred.

"She's a pretty one, just like your Ruby. Would fetch a nice price among sellers. Now unless you want us to hurt you and Ruby here, I suggest you cut the bullshit and give us all you got. Now."

As if on queue, Cardin pointed his pistol at Yang while his two friends raised their rifles. Yang allowed one side of her mouth to bend upwards.

Oh boy, Yang thought. You fucked up.

A slight muzzle flash out the corner of her eye signalled that Blake had taken the shot. Less than a second later, the two men with rifles hit the ground, their blood spraying across the ground, then spilling steadily onto the dirt around them. They didn't even scream. Cardin turned to see what had happened, and Yang used this distraction to her advantage. She pulled her hand away from Ruby and pushed the prisoner of Cardin's reach and used her other hand to punch the pistol out of his hand, simultaneously blowing up his fist in the resulting shotgun blasts. Cardin crashed to the ground, screaming out in pain as blood poured rapidly from his wound. Yang kicked Cardin head viscously, knocking him out instantly.

"No one threatens my sister, you pig,"

Ruby went over to Cardin, and started searching his pockets, carefully avoiding looking at his destroyed limb. When she checked his jacket pocket, she found what she was looking for: the key for the collar. She walked slowly to the girl who now stood up, dusting herself off and looked up to see Ruby approaching her.

"It's ok, I'm not going to hurt you," Ruby whispered softly, despite the prisoner not making any protest. She looked up at this poor girl, stopping herself when she saw her eyes.

"Could you please stop gawking at me? I have a bomb on my neck and wouldn't mind it off right now, you dolt," She spoke in a hard, harsh tone.

"Oh yeah, sorry," Ruby stopped herself, not talking that jab at her personally. After all, Ruby thought, if I had a bomb placed on my neck as well as not getting a bath, I'd be a little annoyed too.  
She unlocked the collar, which dropped to the floor with a dull clang. The white haired girl massaged her neck, a thick red mark contouring her neck. She strolled over to the body of Cardin and pulled the rapier out his belt and tucked into her own.

"I believe this is mine," She announced proudly, pointing it to Cardin. She then turned to Yang. She held herself up straight, and tilted her head slightly towards her, but Yang noticed her wobble slightly.

"Thank you, Ms Yang. I-" She lost her balance, but regained herself.

"-I wanted to thank you-"She says the last word longer than the others, toppling over. Ruby rushed over and caught her before she could hit the floor. She could feel the girl's weak breaths. Passed out. Ruby turned to her sister, who nodded, understanding in her eyes. There was no way they were going to leave this girl alone.

**oo0oo**

Night had settled upon the wasteland, and the girls had made camp a few miles away from where they met their attackers, carrying the girl on top of the pack Brahmin. When they decided to make camp, Ruby took it upon herself to look after this girl, as Blake took the first watch and Yang fell asleep. She was just beginning to nod off herself, when she noticed the girl she saved stirring.

"Whe- wher-?"

Ruby rushed over to the girl, grabbing a bottle of water and some food. She sat down next to her, and lay the girl's head in her lap.

"Where-where am I?" She uttered meekly. Ruby tucked her fringe away and twisted the cap off the water.

"It's ok, you're safe. Here, take some of this," she held the rim of the bottle to the girl's pale lips, tilting her head slightly to drink the water with less chance of spilling it. Ruby poured the water slowly and gently into her mouth, and the girl in her lap swallowed gently. When she drank the last drop, she took the remainders of a steak she had for dinner, conveniently cut into small, chewable chunks. She took a fork and plopped the first piece into her mouth, which was accepted gratefully. After the girl swallowed, she finally spoke again, her voice slightly more clearly.

"How long was I out for?"

"A couple of hours, I'd say," Ruby took another bit of steak again and put it in the girl's mouth, who chewed and wallowed it gently each time. My god, you're beautiful, Ruby thought. She looked intently upon this girl, making sure to look away every so often to avoid staring. When the steak was finished, Ruby took the other girl's head off her lap, and adjusted a bundle of clothes to serve as a pillow, and whipped her cape off, and covered the other girl like a blanket, who whispered again.

"Why did you help me? You don't even know who I am,"

Ruby didn't look up. Instead, she focused on tucking the girl in, the way her mother used to do.

"It was something we had to do. People aren't meant to be slaves," Ruby whispered. She then lay down in her own makeshift bed, turning to face the other girl, who was already falling asleep.

"What is your name?"

The white haired girl turned to face Ruby, hesitating at first.

"Weiss. Weiss Schnee,"

Ruby nodded her head, smiling. She lay her head against the pillow. Weiss, what a lovely name.

"Well, good night,"

Weiss soon followed Ruby into a slumber, muttering the name she vaguely remembered hearing before sleep took her.

"Good night, Ruby,"

_(Notes: FINALLY GOT THIS BITCH SHELLED OUT! I'm sorry, I was feeling inspired. As you can see, I finally incorporated Weiss into the story, which I'm very excited about, I can't wait to write more about her. I feel kinna bad because I have been focusing on Yang the first two chapters and haven't given much attention to Blke and Ruby, so I wrote some of their backstories of this AU to give their charcter'sa little more development. Also, I wanted to a protagonist that wasn't just a nameless danger, which is why I wrote Cardin into the story, however short lived he is. Please enjoy guys, and Adios!)_


	4. Chapter 4: Leaving the capital

_(Summary: After saving Weiss Schnee from the slavers, Ruby, Yang and Blake continue to do their business as usual. Little do they know, they may have bitten off more than they could chew. Contains some angst.)_

He was dead. He knew he was going to die. When Cardin woke up after his fight, he felt dizzy and nauseous, his vision blurry. He tried to move his arm, but stopped when he heard a slight splash. He then realized that his arm and the side of his body were wet, he turned to look down. Blood. Then he noticed his arm and where his hand should have been. It was his blood. He fell back down, giving up on trying to prop himself up. He was dead. That blonde bitch, Yang, had killed him. He fell back on to the ground, allowing the darkness to swallow him.

He awoke again, but fell back when he felt the splitting headache. He noticed a shadow that came to him. The shadow stepped into the dim light. He was a tall muscular black man who wore a red suit with a black shirt, and had short greying hair.

"You're lucky that Sammy's crew found you when they did,"

Eulogy. Fuck.

"Where is the girl?"

Cardin started to sweat slightly.

"Look, boss-"

"Where is the girl?"

"We- we lost her, we got jumped and – AHHHHHHHHH!" Cardin whispered, then suddenly screamed out in pain when the lead slaver dug his fingers deep into his blown off wrist, twisting sinew and muscle.

"What do you mean, you lost her?" Eulogy Jones asked, his town unchanged, not flinching as Cardin twisted and screamed out in pain.

"SOME BITCH ATTACKED US! WE COULDN'T – FUCK AHHHHHH!" Cardin yelled out in pain as Eulogy clawed deeper into his arm, slowly, but surely. Cardin thought he saw him smile.

"I CAN FIND HER! I CAN FIND HER!" Cardin yelled out, hoping for anything to stop the pain. Surprisingly, Eulogy stopped twisting his fingers, looked at Cardin, his eyebrows raised. He pulled his fingers out of the wound, wiping the blood of Cardin's shoulder, never breaking eye contact with him. Gasping in pain, Cardin whispered to Eulogy.

"They…They seemed to be heading north. I'll...I'll bring her back to you, boss"

Eulogy smiled slightly. If anyone could find anyone, it was Cardin. That boy had brought him more slaves than the rest of the group outside combined. Yet, he still pulled out his scoped magnum and held it between Cardin's eyes. But he didn't pull the trigger.

"You have a day to gather up what you need and who you need. If I don't have her back here in two months, I'll kill you. If she somehow turns up dead or missing, I will send you up to the Pitt in her place. So you see Cardin, you are going to have to work very hard to stay alive. Do I make myself clear?" Said Eulogy. Cardin nodded frantically, his eyes still focused on the end of the barrel. Eulogy flashed a huge grin, tucking his revolver back into its holster.

"I'll…I'll find her," Cardin gasped.

"That's the spirit, boy! Now come on, the sooner you get ready for the job, the sooner you can find Mrs Schnee! Happy hunting, Cardin!" Eulogy patted Cardin's shoulder before walking back out into the compound, as Cardin sighed loudly, rubbing his face with his only hand. What the hell did he get himself into? He didn't want to die, but he heard of what they did to slaves in the Pitt. What if he couldn't find Weiss? Maybe he could make a run for it? He shuck that thought from his head. The slavers were all over the wasteland. No matter how long or how hard he ran, Eulogy's boys would always find him. Finally, Cardin hoisted himself out bed. Looks like he had no options.

**oo0oo**

_Flames. Flames everywhere. Ruby hid into Yang's chest as the she ran hard. She peeked over her shoulder, wanting to know what was going on._

"DON'T LOOK, RUBY! WHATEVER HAPPENS, KEEP YOUR EYES SHUT!"

Ruby woke up with a start, breathing heavily. It was a dream, only a dream. Then, she sniffed. Once, then three times. Was something cooking?

"Good morning, sleepyhead," said a smiling Yang, who was serving food to a waiting Weiss, still dirty. Trying to not to scare her by staring too long, she turned her attention to what Yang was cooking. She had fabricated a spit which hung over a roaring fire, with steaks. Ruby's mouth watered slightly.

Fat, juicy, Brahmin steaks.

She scrambled next to her sister, who plopped a rather large one onto a tin plate, which she gave to Ruby. Ruby gnawed at the steak, swallowing it ravenously. She looked up to find Blake a fair distance away, crouching on the balls of her feet. Yang smiled at her sister, then turned back to Weiss.

"So let me get this straight. Your father is one of the founding members of the gun runners in new Reno."

Weiss nodded, to Ruby and Yang's surprise. The gun runners were huge weapons dealers, their trade routes extending out even as far as old Ontario. Yang and Ruby understood. If what Weiss was saying was true, she was the child of one of wealthiest trading families in the wasteland. That also put a huge target on her back. Yang tried to put two and two together. The slavers must've jumped Weiss and tried to take her to Paradise falls. The one thing she couldn't understand was the distance: the gun runners started out in California. That was on the other side of the country.

"What are you doing so far west?"

"I ran away." Weiss blurted out, a hint of angry clear in her voice, as though Yang touched a sore spot. Yang nodded sadly. She knew things were hard in the wasteland for everyone, but she never could understand parents who hurt their parents. However, she felt impressed by the new comer. Travelling alone to the capital wasteland is no small feat, even if she got enslaved along the way.  
Yang turned her attention to Weiss's rapier, noticing something odd. If you just looked it, it looked like a normal blade. Upon closer inspection, she noticed the guard had a six shot revolver chamber, and the handle had a small trigger. Was it a gun as well? Yang smiled slightly to herself. The gun runners always made their own weapons, but this was the first of its kind that Yang saw.

"Hey Weiss, what's up with your blade?"

Weiss frowned.

"What do you mean?"

Yang reached forward slightly, holding her hand out, nodding towards her holstered weapon.

"May I?"

Weiss looked at her sword, then up to Yang. He shook her head, her eyes piercing Yang, who gave a slight tilt of the head. Even though they had saved her, she still didn't trust them. Yang could respect that. She didn't know them, and half a day ago, she was some slaver's poor cargo. Instead, Yang turned back to her cuisine.

"Would you like seconds?"

Weiss shook her head, though Ruby popped up from her plate, holding it out.

"Well, since you're offering…"

Yang rolled her eyes, and placed a rather large slab of meat on her sister's plate. She turned to the black silhouette in the distance, and shouted out to Blake.

"Hey Blake! You want more, babe?"

Blake waved a single hand in dismissal, not turning away from her rifle. Yang sighed, sliding the remaining hunk of meat onto her plate, which she tucked into, eating slowly to savor the flavor. Ruby peeked up from cutting her own slice, turning to look at Weiss, and smiled gently, Weiss turned away to look in the opposite direction. Ruby's smile dropped little, eating her meal with less fervor, wondering what she had done wrong. Really, Weiss did it only to hide her slightly colored cheeks.

**oo0oo**

They headed off back down the road, wondering down the destroyed roads and motorways, monuments of an old civilization. Yang and the group tried to stay off the roads as often as they could. Despite making the whole act of trekking across the wastes slightly easier, they learned from experience that going cross country against the wilderness meant encountering less trouble. Ruby decided to walk alongside Weiss. Though she felt safer by Yang's side, the new addition to the group intriguing her. Weiss allowed her too, though Ruby felt her presence was merely an annoyance. Finally, for the first time since last night, Ruby spoke to Weiss.

"W- Weiss?"

"What?" Weiss snapped at Ruby. Watching Ruby wince slightly, she realized she may have spoke with a harsher tone than she wished. Ruby looked up at her sadly.

"Do you not…like me?"

Weiss was taken aback by this, mouth opened up in slight shock and surprise. Of all the things she expected to come out the small redhead, this was low on her list.

"I don't even know you."

Ruby looked down, watching her feet, which she used to kick up dust gently, her pale cheeks now flaring up to a bright shade of pink.

"I know. It's just… You seem nice, and I just don't like being annoying to other people,"

Weiss shook her head slightly, a small smile appearing which she quickly put away.

"You're fine, Ruby,"

Ruby looked up, muttered "ok" and walked ahead, slight confusion playing through her mind. How did she..? Then she remembered when they first met. How Yang had held Ruby close when the traders came.

_"Yang, and this is Ruby,"_

Ruby smiled slightly. She remembered my name, she thought absent mindedly. Weiss looked at the small redhead, whispering to Ruby, but low enough so her words could be blown away in the wind.

"You're fine,"

**oo0oo**

"Alright, boys. About half a day ago, some of us got attacked by a bunch of traders. Now, these were my men, and the girls that killed those men, my friends. They are gonna pay. We are looking for Weiss Schnee. I don't care who she is, I only care that the boss man wants her. She will be with a small redhead called Ruby, and a tall blonde called Yang. They'll be travelling with a Brahmin. Now, they also have a third member of the group, a sniper, so be careful. These ladies have high class weaponry and they know how to use it. The boss has agreed to a 100,000 caps reward to those who can bring her here alive and unspoiled. You got that? Ok, boys! LET'S ROLL OUT!"

_(Notes: Hey guys! Anyway, like I said in the last chapter, I wanted Cardin to be a real threat to the group, so I obviously he's back. Also, Eulogy is one of my favourite baddies in any game, so I wanted him to make a little cameo. It is a little rushed, a bit shorter than I wanted it to be and I wasn't sure how to go about doing this chapter, so I am sorry. Though I definitely wanted to begin on working on ruby and Weiss's relationship. I won't be able to post as often as I like, so I apologize as well. Anyways, please enjoy, perhaps tell me what you think (?) and adios!)_


	5. Chapter 5: Thoughts and Theories

_(Summary: After travelling through the capital wasteland, the convoy crosses the Stateline into __Maryland__. However, some things change. Contains some bumblebee and white rose fluff and angst)_

"Ok, I think that's the last of them." Yang called out to the rest of group, sighing heavily. She wiped the thick layer of sweat which had accumulated on her forehead. That was the hardest workout she's had in a while. She bent down to pick anything of value off the raider. Patting the side of his hip, she felt something hard and rummaged out his pocket. A few 10mm rounds.

"Hmm. Blake might want these."

" I might want what?"

Yang turned around, finding Blake walking towards her, to her pleasant surprise. Usually, she stayed up in any sniper perch she could find, but when they were ambushed, Blake ran down to join in the fight.

"Um…just some rounds for your gun" Yang scratched the back of her head, not sure what to say as she handed the few rounds to her. Blake smiled a little. Not exactly a romantic gift, but after the raider ambush, her bullet count was beginning to dwindle.

"Thank you."

"No problem," Yang smiled, and then she thought a bit, realizing she wanted to say more.

"Ugh, Blake?" Yang called out softly to the raven haired woman, who turned back to the tall berserker.

"Mm hmm?"

"I was wondering if you could, ugh, maybe, stay close to the group for a while. With me." Yang ran her hand through the back of her hair, nervously. Blake raised an eyebrow slightly, not sure what to make out of Yang's request.

"Is something wrong?"

"NO! Nonono, nothing is wrong. It's just…I rarely see you these days. I know you are protecting the group and you like being alone, I get that, honestly. It's just…I rarely see you these days. Only at meals. And I guess I…I miss you" Yang's mouth ran at a hundred miles, only slowing down for the last three words. Blake took a moment to register these words, which Yang mistranslated as shock, making her look down shamefully.

"I know, it's your job to protect the group, I guess I just-"

"Ok."

"Wait, what?"

Blake shrugged, her black hair fluttering lightly against the wind, her golden eyes looking up into Yang's.

"You're right. I don't always have to be hidden away…and I guess I haven't spending a lot of time with you, and I want to make it up to you" Blake took Yang's hands, stood on the balls of her feet to reach Yang's mouth, and kissed Yang long and gently, pulling away to see her lilac eyes twinkling and her cheeks flushing.

"I love you, Blake."

"And I love you, Yang." Yang then wrapped her arms around Blake's waist, and pulled her girlfriend in for a longer kiss, feeling Blake wrap her arms around the back of Yang's neck. In that moment, everything was perfect. She didn't care about the two nosey pairs of eyes watching, or about the dead raiders that littered the ground. In those few moments, it was just them. Just Yang and Blake, and that was all that mattered.

**oo0oo**

Weiss and Ruby watched the whole event unfold from a safe distance away, a brief distraction from looting the bodies. Ruby smiled cheerfully at them, leaning on Crescent Rose with it's blade embedded in the dirt, while Weiss eyed them up with distaste…and perhaps a slight hint of jealousy.

"Ugh, are they always like that?"

"Nope. Well, not lately," Ruby answered, sadness ringing in her voice. It was true. Though they had been inseparable ever since they found Blake, they seemed to be spreading apart lately. But this kiss meant they were getting better, it had too. Weiss tired to ignore the tragedy she heard in the redhead's voice went back to trying to pull out her bade from the raider's head she had impaled. Placing a boot on his head, she grabbed the handle with bother hands, pulling with all her might, straining as she tried to continue talking with Ruby.

"Well…maybe…they should…be helping us!"

Ruby giggled. She couldn't help but notice that Weiss was being a little more talkative with her the past few days…and maybe even friendly. Pulling Crescent Rose out the ground, she folded the blade down until it touched the barrel and slung it over her back.

"Yeah, I hear you. You need a hand there, Princess?"

"No, it's fine. I got this!" Weiss protested, ignoring Ruby's new nickname. She tried pulling again, but her rapier refused to budge.

"Honestly, it's ok, I want to help" She wrapped her arms around the top of the handle, ignoring Weiss's protests. When she realized that Ruby wasn't going to leave her alone, she decided to use it to her advantage.

"Fine then, dolt. On the count of three?"

"Yeah,"

"Ok, then." Weiss kneeled slightly, her grip tightening around the handle. Ruby mimicked her movements, adjusting her position so she could get better leverage, nodding once to Weiss when she felt that this was the best way to push.

"Ready? One. Two. THREE!"

With their combined strength, Weiss's rapier slid out the ground and the raider's skull with a sickening squelch. Not expecting it to come loose so easily, the two girls lost their balance, and fell to the ground, Ruby landing on top of Weiss. For a moment, they just lay there, staring at each. Ruby looked deep into Weiss's eyes, and Weiss stared back into Ruby's silver eyes. Remembering where she was, she brought herself back to reality.

"Get off me! Where's Myrtenaster?"

Ruby shook herself back down to earth.

"Myr what?"

"Myrtenaster! Ugh, my sword, you dunce!"

Ruby looked around, and then looked down, laughing to herself a little, slapping her forehead with her right hand. Weiss looked up at Ruby, snarling slightly, misinterpreting her laughter being pointed towards her.

"What? What is it?" Weiss asked, annoyed. Ruby pointed down between them. The sword sat safely between them, the point of the blade sticking out between their legs. Weiss through a still laughing Ruby off her, dusting herself off and tucking the blade back into her belt.

"It's not funny, Ruby! I could've accidentally shot you and stabbed you!"

"Oh come on, Weiss! It was pretty funny!" gasped Ruby, wiping away a single tear. Before Weiss could protest, Yang and Blake walked over to where Weiss was standing, chuckling slight at the messy bundle on the floor that was Ruby. When Ruby finally caught her breath, Yang spoke up.

"Right, if you two love birds are quite finished, we need to get a move on. We need to get to get out of here, and fast. There's no telling how many more of them might come," Weiss was about to protest, but Blake and Yang picked up Ruby from the floor looked up to the nearby hills, backing back down the road cautiously, passing by a sign. In withering white lettering, it read:

"Welcome to Maryland."

**oo0oo**

The convoy travelled up a road that was abandoned. Even the only hint of man's presence was the broken tarmac against their feet. Not the skeleton of an old house, just the remains of trees, brown, dead grass and the road which spanned forever into the horizon. The girl's only companions to break the silence were the moaning of the Brahmin and the slight whistle of the wind. To people like Weiss, this seemed unnerving. But to Blake, Yang and Ruby, it was a mere comfort, a sure sign that they were on the right road. Weiss finally spoke out, nervous.

"Why are we here? There is nothing here"

"A few friends of ours live down the road a ways," Smiled Yang, thinking of the last time she saw Lie, Jaune, Pyrhha or Nora. They were about the same age as she was. They once rolled together as a larger trading convoy, until they decided that the nomad life wasn't for them, and settled out in Maryland.

"Who in their right mind would want to live out here?" Weiss said, now tense, as though expecting some unforeseen threat would appear from the slim woods and strike them down, which of course never did. This time it was Ruby who spoke up.

"What? You wouldn't want to live here?"

"NO! Would you?"

"Its kinna peaceful," Ruby smiled. Yang secretly grinned, agreeing with her sister in thought. They hadn't run into any trouble since the raiding party, and Yang thought it was nice to do what her old friends did. Set up shop with the people you loved the most, and just spend the rest of your days with them. She turned to Blake, then Ruby. That seemed like nothing, but beautiful perfection to wake up every day and not have to worry about the world around you. Much.

"I'm sorry, Weiss. I'm gonna have to agree with Rubes here. Traders hardly pass through here, which means that any of the houses you find are probably untouched, which isn't too bad for business,"

"Like that house over there?"

Yang looked back, to see the charred remains of a farmhouse she knew too well. The group suddenly picked up their pace when they saw the familiar home of their friends. Knocking on the door, it was soon answered by a tall, lanky, dark haired man, with pink eye.

"Hello Yang"

"Hey Lie, long time"

**oo0oo**

Lie gestured inside, allowing the guest in.

"Come on in. You're just in time for dinner. Nora's cooking some of her famous mole rat steaks"

Weiss held her stomach tightly, groaning in pain. While Nora Valkryie was an amazing cook, she may have been too generous when serving Weiss her food. She didn't want to turn it down: she was always to finish everything that was put on her plate. Yet her she sat, two hours later, groaning in pain.

That's when she heard it.

At first, she thought it was something she heard by accident, a figment of her imagination. But then she heard it again. It was coming from the couch opposite her. Ruby squirmed and mumbled in her sleep, occasionally letting out a soft groan or slight whimper. Weiss wanted to go and wrap her arms around her, anything to help the poor girl. It kept on going. Eventually, she had had enough. She picked herself up, and crouched next to Ruby, shaking her gently awake.

"Ruby…Ruby..."

"WHAT?! What?" Ruby snapped herself awake, breathing heavily, but slowing her breathing when she saw Weiss.

"You were having a nightmare," Said Weiss, masking her care for the girl with uninterested monotone. She looked into Ruby'slarge silver eyes,still halfclosed from sleep.

"Was I? Um, I'm sorry."

Every fibre of her being wanted to touch the small redhead, though her mind was telling her how much of a bad idea that was. Then again, she had been wrong before. Her mind told her these people would betray her: instead, they took her under their wing, nursing her back to health and treating her like one of their own. So, just once, she decided to do something she never thought she'd do: she listened to her body and crawled in next to Ruby.

"Wha-Wha-?"

"Shhhh". Weiss tucked herself behind Ruby and wrapped her arms around Ruby's belly. Ruby, however, didn't protest Weiss spooning her, though part of her wanted to.

"Just in case you have night mares again," Ruby heard from behind her.

What Weiss didn't know was that Ruby was –for once – not having a nightmare.

She was dreaming about Weiss

And it was a very good dream

**oo0oo**

A pair of binoculars eyed a vertibird approaching close to fort Bannister, dark grey against midnight sky. Were it not for the Schnee family crest painted on the side of the vehicle, the bird would have been a burning wreck at this point. Instead, it landed in the courtyard, and a tall man with a midnight blue suit, short white hair and a neatly trimmed beard strolled out, flanked by two men in mark II advanced combat armour carrying large miniguns. He looked over to the slightly smaller solider who stepped up to him  
_  
_"Good afternoon, Mr Schnee. I trust you had a pleasant flight?"

"Skip the pleasantries, grunt. I am here to say your employer. Where is-"

"Right this way, sir," said the mercenary, his face unchanged by Mr Schnee's rude demeanour. They walked across the courtyard, passing sentries on the walls and soldiers firing at test dummies, through countless airlock doors, passing more frequent patrols until they reached the main office of Talon Combat Company.

"You have permission to enter, but your guards don't," stated the solider, his voice still unchanged, not showing any hint of emotion. Mr Schnee waved his hand, signalling his bodyguards to do as he said. With the swipe of a key card and the hiss of the doors opening, Mr Schnee finally stepped into the office of the commander's office. Straightening himself up, he spoke to the back of the damaged leather chair.

"Good afternoon. I shall get straight to the point. I have a contract for you. A few days ago, my daughter was kidnapped. I'm not sure by whom, but all that matters is that I get her back. If you accept this contract, I will pay you handsomely. 20,00 caps to prepare for this assignment, and an extra million upon the completion of the contract. If Weiss is dead, the contract is null and void. Do you accept this?"

The chair swivelled around to reveal a beautiful woman in a black dress. She had long, black hair and piercing yellow eyes, the colour of fire.

"Of course, Mr Schnee. I'll have my best team, including myself, take care of this, as soon as possible"

Mr Schnee slid a photo of his daughter, Weiss Schnee, which the woman picked up delicately.

"Don't disappoint me, Cinder."

_(Notes: Im sorry guys. Between moving into my new flat, and deciding between multiple plots, this chapter took longer than I expected, though I am happy about where the story is going. I wrote a different plot, posted bt then I realized it was kinna stupid,so I redid this chapter a little. I also wanted to develop Bumblebee and white rose as lovers, since it's something I want to happen but I haven't been focusing much attention to it. I'm sure if you guys will like this chapter better now that ive edited it. Also, the last paragraph was supposed to be the beginning to chapter 6,but hey, this will give you something to look forward too. I still hope you guys enjoy it. Tell me what you think. Adios!)_


	6. Chapter 6: Finding the trail

_(Summary: The convoy decides to get some rest and recuperation with their old friends. Contains short snippets of White Rose, Bumblebee and Renora Fluff)  
_  
The grey light stirred Yang from her sleep, She moved to get up but stop when she remembered her girlfriend had her arms around her. She moved herself back gently so she could be closer, careful not to wake Blake. She felt warm lips suddenly kiss the back of her neck. Yang smiled gently, feeling slight Goosebumps raise.

"Good morning, Blondie," muttered Blake, her soft voice still laced with the lingering hints of sleepiness. Yang turned around, slipping her arms the smaller woman's waist, while Blake nuzzled her head into Yang's chest. Yang kissed the top of her head, and put her chin on top her head.

"Hey beautiful," Yang felt her girlfriend's cheek raise from smiling slightly. She stroked her girlfriend's bare back, a traditional routine for the rare snuggling. Though Yang loved to travel, she relished every moment when they shacked up in a motel or crashed with a friend. Between keeping watch at nights and Blake being away from the group, they rarely enjoyed each other's presence, so time they spent together was worth more than all the gold in the world to them.

"Yang?"

"Hmmm?

"Maybe…we should stay here for a while."

Yang smiled at the thought. They haven't had much R and R for a long time. Besides, she never kept to a schedule: any regular customers they had knew not to wait on Yang. She held her girlfriend tighter, whispering gently.

"I'm sure Lie wouldn't mind,"

**oo0oo**

When Ruby woke up, she didn't remember that the beautiful young woman who had consumed her every thought for the past few days was hugging back, clinging to her like a baby lemur holding on to its mother. When she tried to sit up, she felt Weiss's arm push against her side, accidentally waking the young woman suddenly from her slumber.

"Oh shi- I'm sorry, Weiss," Said Ruby gently, hoping not to make the situation any worse. Weiss groaned slightly, rubbing her head against the arm rest of the sofa. Ruby lay back on the couch, to Weiss's secret happiness. Weiss pretended to fall asleep, tightening her arms so that Ruby was forced to move closer. Silently, the girls each savored each other's presence in silence, memorizing feeling of having the other pressed against them. They both thought that it was stupid to play with the idea of them being a couple, unaware of each other's feelings.

**oo0oo**

Nora awoke, already full of life. She leant over and kissed her husband's head repeatedly, who gently groaned but smiled at Nora's lips on his skin, the curvature of his mouth growing only wider with each different point of contact. He finally turned around, pinning Nora down to the bed, causing her to wriggle and writhe and giggle at the feeling of Lie on top of her, only stopping when he bent down to kiss her. She ran her hands up her love's muscular back. He pulled away, smiling at the young girl's happy face.

"Come on, we need to get up,"

Nora made a forced sad smile, looking down, but internally smiling. She knew Lie couldn't resist that look without the need to kiss her. However, this was a rare occasion, as Lie got up from bed, but Nora still had one last plan. She quickly leaned over, and grabbed her husband's hand, pulling him back so he fell on top of her. However, instead of being grumpy, he gave a deep chuckle, and kissed Nora's forehead, much to the girl's delight. She looked up and smiled at him.

"Five more minutes…Please?" Nora did her trademark sad face, trying to coax Lie to her bidding. He rolled his eyes, and smiled, lying down and cuddling into Nora.

"Fine, but only five. I'm keeping count," Lie lied, instead enjoying the small, warm body that belonged to his life long friend and wife.

**oo0oo**

"So how do you guys know each other?" Asked Weiss, not particular aiming at anyone. They were all sat around a large rectangular table, each with tin plates and a fork and knife, while Nora danced around the table, sliding meat onto each of the plates, much like a housewife of a bygone age. Yang smirked slightly when she noticed this. Old world blues, she thought to herself, suddenly turning her attention to Weiss.

"There used to be eight of us at one point. Some of us decided to split off and do their own thing," Yang stated. If it came from someone else, it might have been mistranslated as subtle malice, but everyone knew Yang. Yang didn't blame them for wanting to settle down. The life they led wasn't exactly for everyone.

"Well, what happened to the others? There are only five here"

"Two of our friends, Pyrrha and Jaune, settled down in California. Pyrrha became a ranger, and Jaune enlisted as a solider." Lie answered, smiling slightly. Though he knew Jaune wasn't cut from the same cloth as Pyrrha, he found something romantic about how Jaune did it to be close his wife.

"And number eight?"

"Have you ever heard of Sun Wukong?" Blake looked up from her plate, suddenly paying attention to the conversation. Yang noticed, but paid no heed towards her reaction. The two of them had been the best of friends for the longest time, and even though Yang knew Sun's feelings went beyond that of mere friendship, he kept it to himself and was always there for her. Yang smiled once again. If it wasn't for him, she wasn't sure if Blake would be sitting at the table with them. Weiss answered, her voice full of interest towards the name.

"Of course. He's the leader of the Wukong mercenary group. They try to wipe out raiders, mutants, slavers. But they also specialize in Intel gathering, mapping out areas for big corporations and other contractors. Rumour has it he has been working with Reily's rangers."

"Well, that's our number eight"

Weiss felt pleasantly surprised. Despite her father refusing to deal with those "ruffians", Weiss had heard exploits of the Wukong mercenary group. It was no secret of that the mercenary group had intervened in scuffles between tribes and small wars, quelling conflicts as peacefully as they all could, saving the lives of countless people. Though their methods were sometimes unorthodox, they were among the most highly commended mercenaries throughout the wastes. Sadly, so were Talon company. Weiss internally cursed her father's business partners. They too were among famous paid soldiers-for-hire, but unlike Wukong, who tried to contain any of the flames of war before they could spread, Talon was more likely to pour gasoline on the flames. She shook her head, shaking loose the thought of them before they could destroy her mood, turning her attention back to Yang

"Is there any chance of meeting him?" Weiss asked, trying to keep her voice bland to hide her excitement at the possibility of meeting a man she admired.

"Of course, he is on the trade route. Speaking of which, Lie, do you mind if we stay?"

Lie looked up, his eyebrows raised in surprise, but grinning widely, both he and Nora almost shouting in his excitement.

"YES!"

"YES!"

Lie straightened himself up, recomposing his posture, though Nora skipped around the room, ecstatic.

"I mean, ugh…yeah. Come on, you're family. But your Brahmin will have to stay outside,"

"Alright," said Yang, looking happily at her girlfriend, who smiled back at her. They needed a break…and she needed some loving.

**oo0oo**

Cinder sat in the vertibird, undeterred to the airship shaking violently from turbulence. She looked at her assault rilfe, which sat loyally in her lap.

"We are touching down, Miss Cinder."

Cinder barely acknowledged the pilot and got up, walking towards the hatch that would open up to reveal the team she had hired. Granted, she had hired outside her own company, but this was a job that required finesse: there was no room for error on this job. She didn't need the extensive fire or bloodlust that her dogs of war had, she needed a more delicate touch. The ship landed, and the hatch opened up to reveal her crew.

"CINDER!"

A tanned woman almost tackled her, but she took the embrace with a smile, looking over shoulder, at the girl's fluttering green hair.

"Hello Emerald. I trust you have been living comfortably?"

Emerald pulled away and nodded, still smiling at her former employer. A long time ago, Cinder found Emerald as a child, a pup looking for her mother. Cinder took her under her wing, breeding her into a fine young warrior. A wise investment, Cinder thought to herself. As compensation for her services, Cinder gave Emerald and her partner Mercury – who lingered behind Emerald, not stepping on board just yet – a large sum of caps and a home far from the reaches of society. A generous thank you for the wealth the two hunters brought them.

"I'm afraid I need you for this job."

"Hey, say no more. You know we are in." Emerald smiled at her mentor and friend. It was thanks to her she was alive. Cinder had given her and her friend Mercury purpose in life. Though she was a little sad Cinder hadn't come for asocial gathering, she swore a long time ago to do anything for her.

"Where is Neo and Roman?"

"Last I heard, Neo was hiding out in Rivet city, and Roman is all the way out in New Vegas," Emerald said, muttering slightly towards the end of her sentence, much to Cinder's disapproval. Typical. Roman was too attracted to the stench of wealth, and though Ember technically let him retire, this put a slight hiccup in their plans. The crew wasn't complete without Roman, therefore the job couldn't be done without some risk of losing the contract. However, whereas Rivet city was a mere hop away with the vertibird, New Vegas was on the other side of the country, meaning it would take another couple of days before they could truly start the job. Still, this contract was too important to pass up. It needed to be done perfect.

"Get on board, we have a job to do."  
_  
(Notes: I'm sorry this took so long, but between my new flat mates moving in and a significant amount of writer's block, this was all I could come up with. I like it, I might come back and add more to it in the future, but I am happy with this chapter. I wanted a little break from action to both work on the Bumblebee romance and the secret want Weiss and Rose share each other, and also to allow some time to pass. Not sure if the romance part comes off well, I feel like it maybe a bit too short, but I think this story is going the way I want it to. Please enjoy, guys!)_


	7. Chapter 7: Closing in

_(Summary: Yang decides that they have spent enough time at her old comrades, and decides to hit the road once again. All the while, Cardin and his band of slavers get all the more closer.)_

Yang adjusted the bags on the Brahmin so that it was at no risk of falling off, but also so that the large beast could travel comfortably. Despite Yang's pleas, Nora had given her food and supplies for the road. While part of her was thankful for this, she still felt weird taking this from her friends: rarely many traders passed through, and they needed all they could get. Ruby, Weiss and Blake stood on the front porch, saying their farewells to Nora and Lie. Well, Ruby and Blake did. Weiss just stood there awkwardly. Even though Nora and Lie has accepted her as a new addition to their extended family, she still couldn't decide what to think of them - even when she accepted Nora's tight embrace and Lie's handshake."You take care now, you here?" Shouted Nora, aiming it at Yang. She nodded to her friend with a smile.

"You know I always do" replied Yang, with a smile and a wink. Checking a final strap on her Brahmin, she folded her arms and kept her eyes on the front porch, waiting for the remainder of the group to say their goodbyes. She didn't want to rush them: after all, she wasn't in a rush and who knew when they would see them next? Nora and Lie were as much family to the group as Ruby and Blake were to Yang. Finally, Ruby, Blake, and Weiss turned to meet up with Yang. Ruby had a slight tear streak running down one cheek, Blake had a slight sad expression, and even Weiss turned to look back at the couple. Lie and Nora stayed on the porch until the four women disappeared into the distance.

**oo0oo**

Neo sat on the flight deck of the old carrier, breathing in the cold air of the morning. It was always part of her routine, her way of commencing the day. However, the sound of the wind wasn't her only companion this morning. The gentle whir of the vertibird's rotors caused her to turn her attention behind her. Against the steel grey mist of the morning, she noticed the black shadow flying across the sky towards her. The gentle breeze of the dawn turned into a slight gale as the shadow turned into a talon vertibird. It could only mean one thing: Cinder needed her. She smiled slight at the thought of her former employer. If it wasn't for the commander of Talon, Neo would probably be dead. Thanks to her, she was able to live in comfortable safety, no small feat in this world. In return, she would do certain contracts for Cinder, the rare ones. Jobs that required stealth and a certain delicate manner of finishing the job. Neo walked close to the vertibird before it properly landed: rivet city security was going to be curious about their new guests, and Neo wanted to before any problems could arise. The whir of the door opened up, revealing the slim figure of cinder, her piercing eyes the only light in the soft darkness.

"Hello Neo,"

"Hello Cinder,"

"I hate to do this to you; an old friend, but I need your help."

Neo nodded, causing Cinder to smile, and then furrow her brow slightly.

"You ready to leave?"

Neo flicked her jacket to the wind, revealing two silenced .45 automatic pistols, painted in black. Neo didn't go anywhere without them. Though she rarely used them, experience told her it was better to have a weapon and not need it, than need it and not have one. Cinder nodded, and stepped aside, letting Neo pass by her. The door closed as Neo found her seat and buckled in. The vertibird is already in the distance by the time a security group run out onto the deck.

"So tell me about the job, Cinder,"

**oo0oo**

Cardin had been trekking for a couple of days now, only slight hints pointing out to where Yang and her convoy might be: an old campsite fire, footprints, anything that gave them away. But today, he had hit the jackpot.

Corpses. Lots of them.

These were just your average raiders: pent up junkies with an unnatural lust for sadism and murder. Cardin didn't care for their passing. For Cardin, collecting people was just a job, pure and simple business. He didn't enjoy making slaves out of people, but a man's got to do what a man's got to. If a person's freedom meant being sacrificed for his own survival, that was a price he could live with. Survival of the fittest. However, these assholes raped, pillaged, and murdered for pleasure. Scumbags. Then he started to look closely at the bodies. Some of them were sliced in half, stabbed, or filled with bullets holes. But one body in particular caught his attention. The body of a muscular man had small, deeps holes in close proximity to each other, as though he had been killed with a shotgun at point blank range. Cardin unhooked his armour, and found his suspicions confirmed: a large bruise was in the centre of the small circle of holes. Then he found another body with similar wounds.

And another.

And another.

Cardin grinned widely. Yang had been here. And if she had been here – with any luck - so had Weiss.

"HEY CARDIN! WHAT'S UP WITH THESE BODIES, MAN?"

Cardin looked up towards the direction of the voice, straight at Russell, a slim man with a pale coloured Mohawk and shaved sides, wearing a tank top and weathered camo trousers.

"WHAT YOU MEAN?"

"ALL THEIR SHIT IS GONE!"

This annoyed Cardin a little. As well as a slaver, he also ran the weapon's shop ever since Pronto died. He got most of his stock from the slaves he caught or raiding caravans, but he also occasionally got lucky and found new stock on corpses. He refocused on the task at hand.

"IT DOESN'T MATTER! WE ARENT LOOKING FOR THEIR SHIT, WE ARE LOOKING FOR THE GIRLS WHO STOLE OUR STOCK!" And it didn't matter. Not now anyway. The only important thing was to get his hands on Weiss Schnee. If he couldn't find her, he wouldn't be running the "Lock and Load" anymore.

"OK, BOYS! WE KNOW THEY'VE BEEN HERE! THEY MUST'VE GONE THIS WAY!" Cardin started walking ahead, not caring whether they followed or not. Though he knew they were too greedy not to follow him – he was the only one who had the slightest clue where they were going - all he cared about was saving his own skin…and that meant finding Weiss. And if he could do to Yang what she did to her while he was it AND get the large sum of caps that his boss promised when he got Weiss back to Paradise Falls, it was all the more reason to keep going. He looked down at the stub where his hand should've been, filling himself with rage. He looked out into the distance, whispering his revenge.

"Yang, I will find you. I can promise you that, I will find you. And when I'm done with you, you're gonna wish you were dead."

**oo0oo**

The vertibird whirred loudly as it sped on through the air. Mercury and Emerald listened intently as Cinder explained the plan of attack to Neo. Though they had already heard this speech, it couldn't hurt to hear again. It would've been important if Cinder had asked them to do this. Being here on the job with them meant it was a lot more important than that. Neo listened intently as Cinder talked about how they needed to bring Weiss Schnee home safe and sound, her pink hair fluttering slightly. Finally, Cinder finished her speech to Neo and waited for an answer, even tough she already knew what it was going to be.

"Well…I'm in" Neo announced.

"Great! We just need to head to New Vegas, to pick up your old partner." Cinder shouted over the noise of the engines. Neo smiled slightly at the thought: she had not seen Roman in years. She had wondered where he had been all these years, but unlike Cinder, she didn't have the resources to track him down, and she didn't bother to ask Cinder to send her men out to check. She had bigger fish to catch

"OK. Once again, I cannot stress to you the importance of this contract. This is a very important client and he is literally giving us the biggest pay off in the company's history. Failure is not an option, and you know I will not tolerate failure, even with people like you."

The three of them nodded, but felt a slight fear when Cinder said that last sentence. She said it in such a threatening tone. This is what unnerved them.

Cinder never made threats.

Cinder made promises.  
_  
(Notes: Sorry, guys, between going out with some friends last night and not knowing what to write, this chapter took a lot longer to write than it normally did, and is a little bit shorter than what I usually write. Might stop posting daily. If I'm going to post stuff, I don't want to feel like I'm rushing it. Anyway, hope you guys _


	8. Chapter 8: Escape

_(Summary: Yang decides to head further east to meet up with her old comrade Sun to do trading, but Cardin is almost upon the convoy.)_

Cardin walked up the same destroyed tarmac road he had followed for days, his crew following him close behind. Despite the massacre of the raiders they saw the day before, there wasn't very many tell tale signs of Yang's trading caravan, and the slavers were beginning to lose morale. Then, a black shadow appeared from the grey fog of the early morning, the farmhouse that belonged to Lie and Nora, the same place his quarry was just a day ago. All of a sudden, they heard the front door swing open and reveal Nora, stretching out on the porch, as was her usual routine in the morning. Russell and his comrade Dove raised their rifles, but Cardin forced them to stand down before Nora noticed: the last person he threatened blew his arm off, killed off his original crew and left him for dead. As he neared the house, he made his footsteps noticeably heavier, announcing his presence. Nora turned to her new guests and flashed a smile, though she kept a hand close to her lever action shotgun.

"Good morning, ma'am," said Cardin, doing a respectful little bow, and flashing a smile.

"Good morning," answered Nora, her smile widening, but not relaxing her stance. Before Cardin could speak again, Lie stepped out, his two signature weapons – turquoise painted 10mm submachine guns with knife blades welded to the barrel - in hand.

"Hello there," said Lie in an unwelcoming tone.

"Good morning, sir," smiled Cardin, his forced politeness strained with impatience, thankfully going unnoticed by Nora and Lie, who was tucking his guns safely away.

"I apologize for the weapons. Don't know who you are dealing with these days," Said Lie, easing up his voice to show a hint of friendliness.

"It's quite alright," Cardin said, still flashing a toothy grin.

"Would you be willing to trade with us? We been on the road for days now, and we are quite hungry and haven't got much in the way of ammo" Said Cardin, in a false voice of pleading, hoping his charms would rub off on the couple.

"No, I'm afraid we can't, we traded a lot of our goods a few days ago, but if you keep going west, there is a trade caravan who would be more than willing to trade with you" announced Lie, unknowing of Cardin's true intentions.

"Thank you, where should we go to catch up with them?"

Lie pointed down the opposite end of the road Cardin and his men had been following.

"Just follow the road you came from. If you are lucky, you'll be able to catch up with them before the days out,"

"Thank you. Have a lovely day, sir, ma'am," said Cardin, doing a final mock bow, and led his men where Lie had shown them. When they were a fair distance away, Nora finally spoke again, her usual happy mood replaced with concern.

"They don't seem like your normal traders," muttered Nora.

"No, they don't" Lie agreed.

"But even if they are trouble, Yang will be able to deal with them. Come back in the house." Lie ushered his wife into the farmhouse, unaware that he may have doomed his friends…and himself.

"Should we kill them?" muttered Sky Lark, one of the other men Cardin had brought along for this job. The leader turned around, frowning.

"Sky, Sky, Sky! Don't you have any sense of integrity? That lovely couple just showed you the way to your next load of caps, and you want to kill them?" Cardin tutted, turning back around and focusing back on the road, an evil smile on his face.

**oo0oo**

The convoy sat on the edge of a cliff, taking a break from travelling to have lunch. Ruby, Yang and Weiss sat around a dim fire, as Blake lay down by Yang, keeping an eye on the road. Though they had been there for a while and it didn't seem like anyone or anything passed through here in a while. The only sounds they heard was the pack Brahmin snuffling gently in its sleep and the whistle of the cold wind."So…what's the plan, Yang?" questioned Ruby, after slowly finishing a mouthful of dried mole rat meat Nora had prepared for them the previous afternoon. Though she knew the trade route they had followed for the past few years, she did it simply as a way to break the long silence that hung over the group.

"Well, if we are lucky, we should reach Sun within a few days. He usually has plenty of stuff to trade, and then we'll try and trek over to new Vegas. After that, we can try and do some trading in California, then maybe head out to Arizona-"

"ARIZONA?!" Spluttered Weiss, half choking on a mouthful on meat. Honestly, it was the reaction anyone would expect: Arizona was under legion control. It was no secret that they were a band of trained murderers, no better than an organized band of raiders. Or that's how Weiss saw them. Despite their unsavoury reputation, Blake, Yang and Ruby knew from years of trading experience that legion territory was among one of the safest and most profitable places in the wasteland to trade. They had wiped out all raiders within the state, and unlike the NCR, they didn't tax trading caravans.

"Yep, Arizona. Nobody will try to screw with us there. Don't worry, princess, we'll be there for a few days at the most," Yang grinned, tucking back into her can of pork and beans.

"But have you heard what they do to women?" half shouted Weiss, her usual scowl on her face.

"That's only their slaves," said Blake, a slight hint of sadness in her voice, "Besides, we won't be dealing directly with the legion. Just traders in Arizona," Yang looked over at Blake, took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. Though it had been almost over a decade ago since she escaped the legion's grasp and there was almost no way any legionnaires could recognize her at first glance, Blake made Yang promise to never deal directly with the legion. Blake half smiled back at Yang, then continued looking through the scope of her rifle. She stomped out the fire as fast as she could and lied back down on the ground. Yang didn't question what she was doing: it was her routine when she saw danger.

"Wha-?" Weiss tried to ask before Ruby laid her down and covered her mouth.

"Don't make any noise," Ruby whispered. Though she was unsure of how close the danger was, Yang always told her it was better to be safe than sorry. Yang lay on her belly and crawled towards Blake, who stared intently through her telescopic sight. She turned to Ruby and motioned to pass her Crescent Rose, who slid her beloved weapon across the ground to Yang. She adjusted the rifle so she could look through the giant scythe's sight.

"What am I looking at, Blake?" Yang whispered.

"Tarmac road, four men," Blake answered.

Yang tried to follow Blake's line of vision, and found what had spooked her: the four men were led by Cardin.

"No way, he should've been dead," Yang whispered harshly.

"You remember when your dad found me, Yang? I should've been dead as well," Blake turned a corner of her mouth up in a smile. Yang made a quick single laugh, still keeping her voice down, though the slavers were a fair distance away.

"Should we try taking them out?"

"I wouldn't risk it, there might be more of them" Blake muttered, another unspoken reason lingering on her mind. The legionaries were glorified slavers, and from her experience, slavers didn't try to retrieve their old "stock", unless it was too high value. She turned to Weiss, and cursed under her breath.  
Weiss was the daughter of the founding members of the gun runners, and that made them a huge target to anyone who knew who she was. If they took out the group of slavers, they would only just send more after them, and if Weiss was such a valuable target, it was a safe bet Cardin's employer was prepared to go to extremes to find her.

"What do you suggest we do, Blake?"

"Let them pass. They seem to be following the road. I don't think they'll notice us or follow the path we took,"

Yang smiled gently, relieved that what she learned from her experiences of years of trading once again paid off.

"And…speaking hypothetically…what if they do notice us or follow the path?"

Blake sighed. They weren't in the best defensive position, and if even they tried to make a run for it, they would be easy pickings for the slavers, but when she turned to the horizon, she couldn't help but smile. The light of daylight was beginning to wane.

"We would have to make a stand, but soon night will fall, that will give us more options"

Just as she said that, Blake noticed through the scope of her rifle that another group of about ten men appeared on the small hill Cardin and his boys came from. Cardin turned and started arguing with the man in front. Though they were too far away to discern any of the words they were saying, Blake was both concerned and curious as to what was going on down there. Observing the heated debate, Blake and Yang's curiosity only grew. What the hell was going on down there? Finally, throwing his arms in a fit of exasperation, Cardin turned and continued walking down the road, followed by his men and the new group.

"Fuck," muttered Yang under her breath. If this new group was with Cardin, that eliminated the option to stand and fight. Though the group had faced greater odds before and they had a vantage point from here, the darkness would reduce their ability to fight. It served as a stealth advantage, but was a huge disadvantage vision-wise. Yang didn't want to put her friends in danger. Yang was torn between what to do: stay here and risk getting caught – they weren't totally invisible on this cliff – or make a run for it in the night. She turned to Ruby and Weiss, who lay down on the ground, half sprawled on each other and covered in cold sweat.

"Unpack the Brahmin, but do it slowly and quietly"

**oo0oo**

Yang, Ruby and Weiss sat at the edge of the path, their trading goods evenly distributed on their backs. Blake had temporarily retreated into the night to release the Brahmin. She also took a block of C4 and a detonator, undoubtedly creating a distraction. The whole time they waited, they kept on eye on the small fire by the road. As the second passed by and grew more agonizing, the group worried more and more about the fate of their comrade.

"She should be back by now," whispered Ruby, pacing impatiently.

"She'll be here!" Yang whispered harshly, a little more venom in her voice than she originally anticipated. She was glad that it was so dark, because she couldn't bear to look at Ruby if she unintentionally hurt her. Almost as if on queue, they heard running footsteps coming up behind them, and faintly saw gold eyes and the slender form of Blake.

"Ok…the charge is set…all we have to do…is wait for my signal…"puffed Blake, out of breath.

"Also, sorry for keeping you waiting."

Blake pulled her detonator, and she motioned the group to walk down the cliff path. They walked down the path slowly but surely, careful not to create too much noise. Even though Cardin and his group of men were a fair distance away, they did it anyway, just in case they had patrols – when Yang looked through the scope of her Crescent Rose as it grew dark, she noticed a few men were not sitting around the fire. Finally, the path levelled out and this is when you pulled the trigger on her detonator. They couldn't feel it, but they heard it and noticed a quick flash of light piercing through the darkness. They intended effect worked, when Yang noticed Blake silhouettes getting up from the campfire they sat around and walked to wards the explosion, curious as to what it was. Blake nodded and the group started running as fast and as hard as they could, holding hands so that they couldn't lose each other in the darkness. They avoided the road completely and went cross country, hoping that Cardin sticked to the roads. Cardin might have noticed some footprints in the dirt if he did decide to go off road, but he wouldn't see them without the help of daylight.

And they would be long gone by the time morning arrived.  
_  
(Ok, guys! I feel like this is just a filler. I don't want to keep Cardin as a main threat but I want it to be so that he'll be keeping Ruby, Yang, Blake and Weiss on their toes. Hope you guys enjoy it, and Adios!)_


	9. Chapter 9: Following the Horizon

_(Summary: After the close call with the slavers, Ruby, Yang, Blake and Weiss continue to head westward to meet with their old friend.)_

Each of the girls kept on running long after the slaver campsite had disappeared. They sprinted hard, ignoring the pain in their legs that threatened to topple them or the lack of sleep from the previous night. Finally, the promise of the dawn started to chase away the veil of night, making the convoy take their first break in hours. Yang finally spoke up, her breath ragged.

"Ok…take five minutes, guys….but don't get too comfortable…I want us to get back on the move as soon as we can,"

As if on queue, Weiss and Ruby placed their heavy backpacks on the ground, careful not to damage any of their contents, then collapsed on the floor. Ruby landed next to Weiss and both the girls tiredly tried to get their breathing pattern back to normal. Meanwhile, Yang dropped her bag and fished a torch and the map she so rarely used. She placed the map on the ground and flicked the light on – the light of the incoming sun was still too weak for Yang to read anything. Blake crouched nearby, unhooking her sniper and scanned the area around them for any potential threats.

"So, what's the plan, Yang?"

Yang scanned the map carefully. Usually, she trusted her memory for any familiar landmarks from her usual routes – hence why she rarely used the map – but this was unchartered territory.

"Blake, what can you see through your scope?"

Blake did a full 360 pan of the area, carefully noting down mentally what she saw.

"A slight hill with a forest to the north…a dried up river bed surrounding it…. And a road way to the south of us."

Yang smiled. The girls had made amazing distance overnight. If the slavers were still on their trail, it would be a long time before they could find them. Heck, the wasteland is so vast; there is a chance they may never have to cross paths again. Plus, they were much closer to Sun than Yang first thought.

"Great! If we continue westward, we should be reaching the Wukong mercenary group pretty soon! This is yang-tastic news!"

Blake groaned loudly, pinching the bridge of her nose, looking away from her rifle and back to Yang, who had a smug grin painted across her face.

"Fucking really? You couldn't resist a pun, could you?"

Yang giggled slightly as she folded her map and put away her gear back in her rucksack.

"Nope, but you love me for it,"

Blake sighed, but smiled as she looked back through her scope, continuing to lok for potential threats.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night,"

**oo0oo**

Meanwhile, Weiss lay panting on the ground as Ruby leaned into her bag pack to pull out a bottle of purified water, taking a few healthy swigs of it before offering it to Weiss. Weiss opened up her eyes and took the bottle without a second thought. Ruby looked at Weiss admirably. Though she was caked in dirt and sweat, Ruby still surveyed her form and face in silent adoration. Finally, Weiss gulped down a final mouthful of water and handed it back to Ruby.

"Thank you. I really needed that."

Ruby nodded, smiling as she tucked the bottle back in its place. Then she heard Weiss slump back down on the ground, using her bag pack as a pillow.

"How are you holding up, Weiss?"

Weiss snorted a singe laugh, then spoke in a tone heavily laced with sarcasm.

"Let's see, I ran away from an abusive father, only to be captured by slavers. Now, those same ones are after us. So yeah, I am just doing fabulous,"

Ruby looked away, slightly regretting asking the question. However, Weiss noticed and feeling a slight pang of guilt, sat up and placed a hand on the small brunette's shoulder. Ruby turned around at the white haired girl, who was smiling at her. Ruby couldn't help but stare into the piercing blue eyes which contrasted beautifully against her dirt streaked skin. God, she was beautiful, thought Ruby.

"I never did thank you guys for saving me and taking me in,"

Ruby placed her own hand on top of Weiss's, who only smiled more at the contact.

"We only did what any other decent human being would've done,"

Weiss's grin was at it largest size. Suddenly, Ruby noticed Weiss's cheek slightly colour.

"I know we got off on the wrong foot, Ruby, and I owe you an apology,"

Ruby shook her head, smiling.

"You had your reasons, no need to apologize,"

"No. It was unnecessary of me, and I want to make it up to you, can I make it up to you?"

Ruby nodded, still smiling and squeezing Weiss's hand softly. Without warning, Weiss leaned forward, running her free hand through the back of the younger girl's hair softly, pulling Ruby towards her. Ruby didn't struggle, nor did she want to. Finally, their lips connected. Weiss's lips felt soft and gently against her own, and Weiss relished the taste of Ruby. Weiss was the first to break the kiss, leaving Ruby in a daze for a few seconds.

"Wha- what was that for?"

Weiss frowned, getting up and hoisting her large bag pack onto her shoulders, simultaneously dusting dirt off her backside.

"Didn't you hear what I said, you dolt? I wanted to make things up to you" She suddenly broke into a smile and offered a hand to Ruby.

"Now, get up. We'll be heading off soon,"

**oo0oo**

Ruby spent the whole journey westward with Weiss, never taking her mind off how her lips felt. Though she and Weiss never mentioned it, Weiss always smiled and blushed slightly whenever they made eye contact. Meanwhile, Blake decided to do her normal routine and wandered away from the group to cover them from any threats. Though it was unlikely that they may see them so soon, the close encounter with Cardin and the slavers put the whole group on high alert. Yang also wasn't her usually happier self. She seemed tense and ready to jump at the first sign of trouble. It was only when she noticed Ruby and Weiss holding hands did she lighten up.

"Somehow, I'm not surprised,"

"hm?" Weiss and Ruby both pulled away their gazes from each other and looked at Yang.

"If you ask me, I knew it was only going to be a matter of time,"

Ruby and Weiss blushed slightly. Weiss quickly tried to divert her attention to something else.

"So, how long until we reach the Wukong mercenary group?"

"With a bit of luck, if the weather holds up, and we don't run into any trouble, we should be there in a couple of hours. Nice way to change the subject, princess."

Weiss blushed more furiously and continued walking, never letting go of Ruby's hand, who was now just as red in the face as her partner was. Yang turned back around and continued trekking westbound, smirking.

"How long we staying with Sun, Yang?" Ruby asked.

"I don't know, Rubes. Probably a couple of days at most. We'll stay and catch up with Sun and the other guys. Besides, I am in no rush to reach California,"

Ruby nodded in understanding. Even Weiss seemed to comprehend Yang's dislike of not wanting to reach the New Californian Republic. The taxes were harsh on small trading outfits like Yang's. Even the gun runners – the company Weiss's father owned – suffered in the past between heavy taxes, raiders and the recently ended war at Hoover dam. Each of the girls snapped out of thought when they heard faint gunfire on the wind. Though it was a common occurrence within the wasteland, it was still more than enough reason to put the girls on edge.

"We should keep going,"

**oo0oo**

Cardin cursed loudly, kicking the dirt in angry frustration. The explosion they heard the previous night had attracted the attention of a small pack of deathclaws, which made short work of the majority of his men and injuring the remaining members. For the moment, those wounded would probably survive with some stimpacks, but it still hindered them drastically: it would be a day or two before any of his men were in any condition to maintain pursuit, and some of the equipment the previous crew brought with them would have to be left behind.

"grrrr…"

Cardin heard a weak growl from the largest deathclaw. Even after all the punishment this beast had took, it still was breathing. Cardin picked up a lever action shotgun, climbed onto the chest of the beast, shoved the barrel aggressively into the monster's jaws and blasted all the shells into its skull. When he was out of ammo, he threw the gun away and kicked at the now still chest until soft tears rolled down his cheek. God damn it, he thought, I am fucked, I am so fucking fucked! Even if he brought Weiss back to Eulogy, he wouldn't be happy about the men and equipment lost. If he didn't bring Weiss back, he was as good as dead. At this point, he wasn't sure which option he preferred. He angrily wiped away his tears, and looked at his injured comrades who lay sleeping a few feet away. Though the shotgun shots never woke them, they still stirred and groaned from their wounds.

"What a mess," Cardin said aloud. Stroking his chin, he made a quick decision and started to gather up the weapons and equipment up so he could prioritise what was needed later. He needed to be prepared to hit the road as soon as his comrades could walk, and it helped to be prepared. It was the best he could do in this situation.

_(Notes: hey guys, between starting classes and such, this took a while. I tried to revive some of the fluff by having a wee bit of interaction with Blake and Yang and starting on the romantic white rose relationship. I also tried to put a little bit of emotion behind the character of Cardin. I know I didnt talk about a deathclaw attack in the previous chapter, it was just an idea that popped into my head when writing this chapter. Hope you guys enjoy!)_


	10. Chapter 10: Finding the Sun

_(Summary: After days of travelling, the convoy finally happen across Wukong's mercenary group . A little bit of white rose fluff at the end.)_

For the umpteenth time this day, Yang attempted to wipe away at the thick layer of sweat which covered her forehead, only succeeding in making her face more dirty. Growling slightly, she questioned why she ever thought of doing it in the first place. The long hard trek was beginning to take a toll on Yang. The heavy bag pack and equipment was digging deeply into her shoulder blades, and her legs were straining under the added weight, and running the group did in a bid to create more distance between the slavers which were still behind them. Though it was unlikely that they would find them Yang wasn't one for taking chances. Yang looked around at the group, growing more disheartened. Blake soldiered on, but her gritted teeth and bags under her eyes were showing that the march was just as hard on Blake as it was on everyone else. Ruby limped slightly, but refused to stop at all. The one who was taking it the worst was Weiss. While it was the other's lifestyle to travel almost everyday of their lives, Weiss was currently leaning on Ruby for support, barely hopping along. Though she was physically fit, she looked as though she was on the verge of passing out. Stopping to allow the rest of the group to catch up, she dragged herself on Weiss' unoccupied side and slid her arm onto her shoulders, crouching slightly to accommodate the white haired girl.

"Please…I don't need help, Yang,"

Yang looked at the girl. She looked truly miserable. Her hair was matted with dust and dirt. Her trousers were scratched up and bloodied from falling over, and her eyelids could barely stay open.

"Weiss, you can barely stand, let alone walk, and am I hell leaving anyone behind."

Weiss huffed in protest, but didn't argue her point further, focusing her energy on taking excruciatingly small footsteps. Blake turned around, and held her hand up out flat in a stop signal, who obeyed. Before Yang or Ruby could ask what she was doing, Blake slipped Weiss off the two girls, and took off Weiss' bag pack. Adjusting it with a heavy grunt, Weiss' bag sat on her front, and her own was on her back. The two sisters picked the girl back up with a bit more ease as Blake leaned her chin on the top of Weiss' bag and walked ahead, but slow enough to be at the same pace as the rest as the group. And so this continued, until Blake finally spoke up.

"Something is up ahead,"

Yang looked up and saw a small spike jutting out from the smooth horizon. She signalled for the group to take a break. Ruby carried Weiss off a little bit, and sat her down, taking a bottle of water from her own bag pack and tipping it gently into the other girl's mouth so she could drink gently. Meanwhile, Yang and Blake dropped their bag packs, and Blake took up her sniper rifle, and looked through the scope of it. Smiling, she passed the rifle to Yang, who beamed as well. There was a large building with a large fence surrounding it. She also saw a small group of men patrolling the building. All of the men wore beige coloured armour, with a black symbol on it: two arrows forming an x with a sword cutting in between them. The same symbol was painted on the building but in white. Yang and Blake recognised the symbol almost immediately.

The symbol of the Wukong mercenary group.

Blake slung her pack onto her shoulders and carried her rifle over her shoulder. Yang adjusted her own sack with some slight difficult and turned around to rouse Ruby and Weiss, but the red head came with Weiss in her arms. The smaller girl was carrying her companion in her arms bridal style as she breathed gently, her head rolling side to side with each stride Ruby took.

"She's exhausted, I didn't want to wake her," Ruby whispered intentionally, hoping not to wake the white haired girl. Yang nodded once, and walked alongside Ruby, a comforting hand on her sister's upper back and a new found hope in her mind.

**oo0oo**

"Yo, boss! You are going to want to see this!"

Sun looked up in the direction of where the voice came from. It came from his right hand man and best friend, Neptune Vasilias. He didn't wear the traditional armour the rest of his men did, but had a leather overcoat with the symbol of the Wukong Mercenary group stitched on the back of the coat. He currently stood on a balcony looking through a pair of binoculars, gazing out into the distance. Sun jogged up the gangway to where his friend stood guard. Without turning around, Neptune handed the binoculars to Sun, who looked out into the distance. Four figures were trudging towards them in the distance. Sun laughed slightly to himself as he instantly recognized the shades of red, ebony and blonde hair. He didn't recognize the fourth, which Ruby carried, but Sun handed his binos back to Neptune and vaulted over the balcony, sprinting towards the group.

"HEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" He heard Neptune shout behind him.

"GET SOME OF OUR ROOMS READY, AND BRING SOME FOOD AND WATER OUT! WE HAVE GUESTS!"

**oo0oo**

Ruby tucked Weiss into a single bed Sun had laid out for her, besides three identical ones. Ruby smirked smugly as she saw two of the beds were pushed together to form a double bed: clearly for Yang and Blake, which gave the small redhead an idea. Tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, Ruby pushed her single bed next to Weiss' own one, gently and careful not to cause enough noise to wake her. When they were finally joined, Ruby crawled into her own bed, and wrapped her arms around Weiss' waist, deciding she would catch up with Yang and Blake later.

**oo0oo**

Across the corridor, while all this was happening, Sun took a healthy swig of whiskey, wincing slightly as the amber liquid burned its way down his throat. Smiling finally, he looked at Yang, tilting the bottle towards her and Blake.

"This is pretty good stuff, Yang. You got any m-?"

Before he could finish, Yang fished a bottle of her bag pack and slid it across the metal table to Sun, who caught expertly. Nodding his head in thanks, he stood it up and put it beside him, out of the way. Blake and Yang felt slightly confused and worried: the last time they saw their friend, he had a hatred for alcohol, but they quickly put that thought to the back of their heads when Sun looked up and spoke to them.

"So, what brings you to this corner of the woods? Don't get me wrong, it is nice to see you guys" said Sun, aiming the statement more at Blake, who seemed unfazed by the comment "but somehow, I don't think you are here just to share whiskey and old stories,"

Yang smirked slightly. If Sun was anything, he was perceptive, as much as it pained her.

"We were almost attacked by a group of slavers few days past. We need a place to lay low for a while…and maybe even trade," Yang beckoned to all their bag packs lined against the wall, still filled with all manner of random goods. Standing up, Sun walked towards Yang and clapped her firmly on the shoulder, a firm smile drawn on his face.

"You guys know you are more than welcome here. As for trading, we are high on caps, and low on goods. So it seems like you were a god send, heh." Smiling one final time, he strode towards the door, not giving the girls a look back. As ecstatic as he was to see his old friends, he had a company to run.

"You two should get some rest. You have travelled a long way,"

**oo0oo**

Weiss awoke gently, but not peacefully. The soft squeaking sounds and slight leg jerks from the person next to her had stirred her from her sleep. She turned around to find Ruby twisting and turning in her sleep. The squeaking coming from her throat would have sounded cute if it weren't for the tear streaks running down Ruby's cheeks and the terrified expression on her face. She instantly placed her hands on Ruby's shoulders and shook her gently, and spoke to her in a soft, almost motherly voice.

"Wake up, Ruby, wake up,"

Ruby jerked out of her nightmare suddenly with terrified panting and eyes darting around the dimly lit room. Without hesitation, Weiss embraced the thin form of Ruby as the girl broke down and started crying softly into Weiss' shoulder. Never losing her composure, Weiss kissed the top of Ruby's head regularly, and hushed her with soft, kind words.

"Shhh, it's ok…I'm here…it's over,"

Soon, Ruby quietened down, and Weiss looked down upon Ruby, instantly regretting it. The usual happy, cheerful girl had puffy red eyes and the most heartbreaking look of sadness on her face. Stroking away a tear with her thumb, Weiss finally whispered to Ruby.

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

"Could you just…hold me right now?"

Nodding once, Weiss took Ruby in her arms, protecting the girl from whatever demons haunted, almost taunting them to dare come back with her. After a few minutes of silence, Ruby broke the silence.

"I remember their faces just like it was yesterday. My family, Blake and others settled not far from a town called Broken hills. It was a normal night. Tai had just come home from trading and we were settling down for the evening. Then some raiders came during the night…" Ruby bit back the tears that threatened to come out before she could finish her story. She wanted to tell Weiss everything.

"…there were so many….my mom woke me and Yang up, and Tai told us just to run, run and don't look back. Don't look back he said…but I did. And…and…" Ruby almost broke down again, but Weiss' lips on her forehead soothed her again.

"Some of us ran to Broken hills. Pyrhha, Jaune, Lie, Nora, Yang, Blake, Sun, and I were the only ones who made it there. I never saw anyone else again. My uncle Qrow helped raise all of us, and even gave his trading caravan name when he decided to retire." Ruby smiled finally, at the happy memory, then felt guilty when she remembered about the death her parents had suffered at the hands of the raiders. Weiss listened in silent shock, her heart splitting as Ruby told her story.

"I had no idea…I'm truly sorry,"

Ruby shook her head, and nestled deeper into Weiss, craving the warmth that emitted from her body.

"Can I ask you one thing, Weiss?"

"Yes, Ruby?"

"Please…don't leave me,"

Weiss nodded her head once and wrapped her arms tightly around the small girl. Finding out about the girl's harsh past gave Weiss a new found respect for her. She knew she was a talented fighter, and a clever trader, but to witness whatever happened that fateful night at a young age and remain mostly normal at her age now was remarkable. Kissing the girl once on the head, she closed her eyes and held the redhead close, taunting to the haunting memories of her past to dare come back again.

For the rest of the night, they left Ruby alone.

_(Notes: I haven't really touched much on this story, so I really wanted to write something. I know it is a short chapter, but I have been so busy with university stuff and I felt bad leaving you guys without anything. Also, I saw on a previous review that someone thought they were already in California. I just want to make it clear that is where they are heading towards and it will be a little while before they actually get there. So quick announcement, I am going to be putting my writing on hold, at least for a while. I need to get my programming and design coursework out the way before I do anything else, so I'm sorry, you are gonna have to wait to see more of this story. With that being said, I am going to post one more chapter on "Growing Up" and some of you may be happy to know I have other ideas for other RWBY stories coming up, but you'll only be seeing them once I get uni shit done. Anyways, I am truly sorry, I know this chapter is short, but I wanted to leave you guys with something. I hope you enjoy it, and Adios!)_


	11. Chapter 11: Somewhere safe

_(Summary: The team rest and recuperate while events they are unaware of take place. Includes Bumblebee fluff.)_

Blake awoke in a dimly lit room. The walls were a dull grey, flicked with dirt, the only illumination coming from a weak, flickering light on the ceiling. At first frightened by the unfamiliar layout, she quickly calmed down when she remembered where she was. Or more importantly, who she was with. Across the room, Ruby and Weiss slept in the same bed – or more, two beds pushed together – with Weiss wrapping her arms protectively around Ruby's form, both of them covered by a thick blanket. Blake diverted her attention to the golden mass of locks, next to her. Yang lay there, dead to the world, her head still resting on Blake's shoulder and one arm wrapped around her belly. Blake adjusted herself slightly, and stroked the blonde berserker's wild mane, smiling all the while. Despite their individual insecurities, problems, and flaws, Blake loved Yang more than anyone could possibly comprehend. She took her in when she had no cause to and gave her a hopeful future. After everything she had suffered, Yang was Blake's new life, her second chance.

And she would defend her to the bitter end.

"You're lucky I love you so much, rarely anyone gets to touch the hair," Yang grumbled, unmoving, her eyes still clamped shut, though her whole face was tensed up. This didn't stop Blake. It barely even intimidated her. She simply continued to stroke her blonde hair, stopping to place a delicate kiss on top of the blonde brawler's head. This eased Yang's tense face into relaxation, and rewarded Blake with a small smile. Tightening her hold around Blake, Yang moved in closer towards Blake, eager to soak up every ounce of heat she had to offer. In response, Blake wrapped her arms around Yang, leaning her head against the top of Yang's head, closing her eyes, drinking in Yang's scent. Even though she spent most of her life trekking through dirt and fighting for her life, Yang still had managed to have a surprisingly sweet, natural smell about her, mixed with the subtle hints of earth and sweat. Blake heard a distinct mumble from Yang.

"Did you say something?"

"I love you, Blake," Yang whispered.

Blake smiled, and held the girl closer, thinking of nothing of how much more she wanted this moment to last forever. Nothing else mattered in that moment. Not their past. Not the wastes. Not their future. Not even Ruby and Weiss. All that mattered to Blake in that moment was Yang. She uttered one last phrase before following her love into consciousness.

"I love you, Yang,"

**oo0oo**

"GOD DAMN IT!" Sun pounded the work bend the fifteenth time since he started on this project early that morning. He was currently working on an automated defence system for the compound. One thing he hated doing was putting his men – no, his friends, his brothers – in harm's way by defending the fort. So he, Neptune and a few of the company had worked together to activate the robots within the facility, and to devise a way of effectively protecting the fort without any human bodies. They had already a few turrets around the perimeter, some from before the war, other bought from traders or made out of different bits of scrap. Sun was now working on a central brain unit for them, a system that could program the gun's settings. However, it simply refused to work. If only…

"Sun? What you doing?"

Sun almost jumped when he saw Ruby in the doorway, bumping into. She wore a loose grey tank top, and thick black trousers, accompanied by huge boots. Sun took a huge breath, before addressing Ruby.

"Christ, Rubes, don't sneak up on me!"

"I'm sorry," Ruby said timidly. Sun took another breath and eased up his tone.

"It's alright, just wasn't expecting anyone," at this, Ruby smiled softly and Sun thanked himself for not coming off as too harsh. Ruby went on her tip toes to look over Sun's shoulder.

"What you working on?" Ruby asked, her voice filled with the curiosity of a child. Sun stepped aside, as Ruby walked over towards the work bench.

"My pet project," Said Sun, displaying the crude mish-mash of wires and electronic components. "It isn't finished yet but-"

"your power supply is too weak," said Ruby, in a matter of fact tone.

"….excuse me?"

"Your power supply" said Ruby, pointing towards a small cylinder, "also, your capacitor is broken, plus a few wires are kinna damaged", Sun followed Ruby's finger to where she pointed. True, the component Ruby was pointing at was sparking unnaturally, and there were wires that were slightly eroded that Sun originally overlooked that Ruby was now showing. Sun leaned against the work bench and took a deep breath.

"So what do you suggest doing?"

"I would get your power supply and capacitor sorted out. The wires might be fine if they aren't too badly damaged, but the power supply won't be able to make the circuit work if it isn't powerful enough. Plus, you'll need the right capacitor. Too low, and it won't work the way you want it to. Too high, and the capacitor will damage or blow up." Muttered Ruby, a clear face of focus and concentration etched on her face. Sun has a quick thought before he spoke again.

"Could you help me out in fixing it?"

Ruby sat for a moment and thought in herself. She wasn't sure how hard it would be to find a particular power supply small enough to be placed on the circuit and powerful enough to run the whole circuit. Even though Sun never had a chance to say what it was for, already she could that the supply was too weak to run th components on the circuit board. In addition, finding a capacitor that could tolerate the voltage and current of the circuit would be an equally difficult task. Still, it would be an interesting challenge…

"Sure. Why not?"

**oo0oo**

BOOM!

Neptune took yet another shot at the makeshift target made out of cardboard but missed it entirely for the third time in row, hitting the wall close to the neck of the imaginary body, causing him to throw his pistol down to the floor in a fit of anger. He ran a hair through his blue hair, letting out an exasperated sigh. He picked his gun again aimed and fired.

Missed.

Again.

He went to fire the gun again and realized he was out of bullets. Filling it up with bullets, he stood up and went to fire again.

"You're holding the pistol wrong," Neptune hears a female voice come from behind him. As he turned around, he saw Weiss turn up next to him. She wore a simple long sleeved shirt and trousers. She took the gun from Neptune's hand, who let her have it without protest. She held it in one hand, feeling the weight of it. It was a simple revolver, a bit more heavy than any weapon Weiss was used to. Holding the gun in one hand, she put her hand on the bottom of the handle, and crouched as she looked down the sight. Unlike Neptune – who was eager to fire off as quickly as he could – Weiss took a deep breath in and out. Neptune was beginning to lose his patience.

"Just fucking –"

Weiss fired off all six rounds in the chamber in quick succession. Neptune scoffed, but looking at the target, he raised his eyebrows in surprise. In the head area of the target, there were six holes where the bullets passed through the cardboard, creating a perfect circle. Weiss stood back, reloaded the gun and handed the revolver back to Neptune, but adjusted herself so she could show him how to hold it.

"If it's too heavy for you, put your palm on the bottom of the handle. It'll help steady the gun. Also, crouching will help your aim," Weiss then stepped back and watched as Neptune squeezed off a shot. He was at first surprised then smiled as he saw the fruits of his effort.

In the torso of the target, a perfect circle.

"Thank y-" Neptune turned around to thank Weiss, but all he saw was the back of her as she left the room. A little saddened, he made a mental note to thank her when he saw her again. Thinking less on it, he turned back and started firing off. Though he occasionally missed, the new posture Weiss had shown him made the number of times he hit the target vastly outnumber the amount of times he missed.

**oo0oo**

Cardin looked through his binoculars again, not believing what he saw. He peered through them again, hoping that he wasn't imagining things.

There, in the middle of a vast plain, was a huge facility, with men patrolling it. Both the men patrolling it and the building had the insignia of the Wukong mercenary group. The same group who had claimed responsibilities for attacks on slave caravans. They always did the same thing per raid. They would ambush the caravan, kill of most of the slavers, release the slaves, and take whatever equipment they had. But they always left one survivor. Every survivor came back saying the same thing. Even Cardin had seen it happen a few times.

"Greetings from Wukong,"

Ever since then, the slavers had made it their goal to take down the group. But not only did Cardin catch their sworn nemesis where they slept, but something else caught his attention.

There, on the top of one of the walls, sat his target with a small redhead, talking. The Schnee girl! She was here! Cardin grinned evilly. If she was there, then Yang wouldn't be too far away. He thought over the plan in his head. He could take out three birds with one blast. Kill Yang, destroy the Wukong group once and for all, and get the Schnee girl back to Paradise Falls. He looked back at his group, and his heart dropped slight. They were too few at the moment.

"Dove! Get over here!"

Hearing Cardin half shout him over, he scrambled to his leader but kept close to the ground, to avoid being spotted by the sentries that were no doubt stationed around the facility.

"Yeah, boss?"

"I need you to get a message out to Eulogy…"

_(Notes: finally updated this story. I had intended this chapter to be longer, but between everything going on and writer's block, this is all im going to post at the moment. Hope you guys like it, and Adios!)_


End file.
